The Odds
by Ink-About-It
Summary: It all starts with a bet. Uh-oh. The classic tale of the jock and the geek, hate at first sight, and the race against fate. The odds are against everyone involved, so who wins? My money's on Cupid. (Present day Teen-AU)
1. Chapter 1: The Jock

**Disclaimer : **Rizzoli & Isles is Tess Gerittsen's baby, adopted by Janet Tamaro and is currently in a serious relationship with Turner Network Television. The soundtrack is not mine. The English language is pretty much public domain though. I hope.

* * *

**1. The Jock**

* * *

It's Thursday. The Sun still has sleep in her eyes, but the café's already busy with caffeine addicts looking for their first fix of the day.

She sits on her own at a small table in a corner by the window, hair loose and shaggy, eyes unseen behind her dark Ray Ban shades. The steam is still rolling off the top of the mug, but she's already on her last sip of black coffee, no sugar.

After emptying the cup, she puts it down and replaces it with her phone. _7 missed calls_. _3 texts_. All from the same person, no doubt. The ache behind her eyeballs stops her from rolling them.

Feeling only slightly more human, she breathes out a deep sigh and scrolls through her call log.

_Frost… Ma… K_. Call. The line rings.

"Jane!" She cringes at the perky pitch of the voice on the other line, reckoning she's heard it mutter and scream all sorts of things into her ear enough for a lifetime.

"Hey, K." Jane's voice is gravelly and tired like a metal band front-man after a long tour. She suppresses a yawn.

"Where are you? I didn't see you leave. I made breakfast…"

"I wasn't feeling well." It isn't a lie. She feels like shit caught in a bull stampede.

"Aww, poor baby. Is it your stomach? I can whip something right up and bring it to you. Grandma's recipe. Did you go home? Just text me your address and I'll be right over. How did you get there so fast?"

Too many questions. Jane doesn't like answering them, no matter the time of day. Time to rip the Band-Aid off.

"Sorry to do this over the phone, but, I think we should stop seeing each other." Her voice is level and detached.

"What? You're breaking up with me?" The surprise and hurt in the other girl's voice is evident, but she's unmoved.

"No. We just hooked up a couple times. We were never a couple, babe." Jane reasons.

"But- but, Jane. What about last night? I told you I _love_ you." The girl is getting too emotional. This conversation has to end soon. "After we climaxed-"

"I can't date a girl who's in love with me."

This is what happens when people start attaching strings to a perfectly good casual arrangement. Jane shakes her head.

"I- I- I don't understand…"

Jane notices a fine figure standing by her table, smiling sweetly. She covers the phone's receiver with her free hand and looks up.

"Is this seat taken?" asks the sexy stranger with a cute nose-ring.

"I'm waiting for someone," Jane replies shortly.

"Oh."

Feeling like she just got the royal brush-off, the girl turns to walk away with a dejected look on her pretty face, but after a quick once-over Jane decides to add, "But maybe we can have coffee some other time. Soon."

It's never a question, but the answer is always the same.

"Yes, I'd like that," the girl smiles.

Seeing as her phone is still busy with Ms K on the other line probably begging and pleading, Jane pushes a clean napkin across the table and pulls a pen out of her denim jacket's breast pocket. _Always be prepared_. A few scribbles later, the girl pushes the pen and napkin slowly back toward Jane.

"Is this seat taken?" Frost asks with a smirk, having walked in to find that his best friend is at it again.

Ignoring the newcomer's presence, the girl winks at Jane and mouths 'call me' before sauntering away. Jane silently motions for her pal to sit before returning to her phone call.

"I hear ya, but I gotta go. Don't call or text, please. Take care."

She hangs up and holds up two fingers toward her waitress across the room.

"Who was _that_?" Frost asks curiously.

Jane reads the napkin and says, "_Danielle_…? Look, she even gave me her e-mail."

"I meant on the phone."

"Oh. Herstory."

"Jesus, Jane. Another one?" Frost is in amused disbelief. This girl goes through girls like he goes through breath mints.

"It's nothing, really," she says with a shrug, leaning back in her chair.

"If it was _nothing_, you wouldn't have had to sneak out of her apartment this early in the morning, and then call _me_ cause your car's still under construction. Look, you've still got cum in your hair," he laughs hoping she falls for it.

Jane tries to stop herself from checking. "Ha-ha, very funny, Frost." Again, an eye-roll would have been nice, but the pain isn't worth it.

"I try. You look like shit, by the way."

"Gee, thanks."

"So," he moves along in a business-like tone, resting his elbows on the table and balancing his chin on interlinked fingers, "did she say the '_d_', '_g_' or '_l_' word?"

Jane groans in annoyance, regretting having called him at all. "No text-speak before my second cup of coffee. Please."

"She either introduced you as her _girlfriend_, told you she _loves_ you, or… freaked you the hell out by calling you her _Daddy_ in the heat of things." He can't help it. He just has to bring that up every chance he gets.

"That only happened _twice_. And it doesn't do much for my own daddy issues, okay?"

She yawns.

"Didn't get much sleep, huh?" He's in a teasing mood, clearly.

"You have _no_ idea," she retorts with a shit-eating grin, flashing back to the things that K-girl did and let her do last night... before she grew feelings, that is.

"Well, good luck getting through today with that hangover." He smiles, triumphantly.

She groans again. "Don't remind me. Dunno why they don't just let the school year start on a Monday."

"I'm with ya on that one, partner."

The waitress arrives with two fresh coffees. Jane subtly reads her name tag. _Theresa_.

"Thanks, T."

Theresa looks up, a little surprised. She then smiles shyly and walks away with a bit more sway in her hips.

"That's Theresa from school, right?" Frost asks, his eyes fixated on the waitress' retreating form.

Jane nods slightly, more concerned with savoring her second first sip of the morning.

"I remember when she was a Senior last year, she was nice." He nods to himself. After a moment's pause, he leans into Jane conspiratorially. "Whataya think my chances are with her?"

Jane shrugs, eyes closed behind her dark shades, feeling her body wake further up. One limb at a time.

"C'mon," he looks around bashfully, "Y'know, I heard she's still a virgin."

At that, Jane snorts.

"Okay, what's that supposed to mean?" He's clearly offended. Theresa's a nice girl, unlike some of the skanks he's seen Jane with this past year. She's pretty too, which is a bonus.

Jane just shrugs again.

"Spill or I'll tell Frankie where you were last night. And you know that's just as well as telling your Mom." He doesn't usually resort to threats. No, actually he does.

She concedes. "Not even a backdoor virgin."

"Ah, hell no! You've been with her?" Frost's face is quite comical in its incredulity.

"No, her sister told me," Jane says sarcastically, hoping he doesn't get the inside joke.

"You were with her sister too?!" His eyes struggle to keep within their sockets.

"Keep your voice down, jeez," she scolds in a harsh whisper, "And just for the record, T & C both knew about each other."

"Oh. My. God. You did it. You had a threesome with twins." He throws his hands up in defeat.

"Shut up, wouldja? You're causing a scene," she says, although she doesn't look around to check if anyone's listening in on their conversation. Jane plus hangover equals vegetable.

Frost quirks his eyebrow cynically and huffs in contempt, finally taking a sip of his decaf cappuccino. Just the way he likes it. Then he has a thought.

"You don't even know their names, do you?"

"Who?" she asks mechanically.

"The girls you sleep with. Notice how you always call them by the first letter of their name?"

"Nicknames."

"More like a system for keeping track." He puts his mug down. "Y'know what, I blame this new _shagging spree_ on those damn tweezers. Now you're like the Shane McCutchers-Whitney Mixter love-child devil."

Really? Shagging spree? Love-child devil? Even Jane had to laugh at that. "Really, Frost? And it's McCutcheon. What kinda lesbro are you?"

"Seriously though. You were much calmer when you still had your uni-brow… and no 6-pack."

"It's an 8-pack," she corrects, "and I'm not forcing anyone into anything they don't want, so what's the big deal?"

"It's not like they fall for you on purpose, you big jerk." He gives her a hard look before going back to his beverage.

"Yeah, well…" the sentence dies in her mouth. She can't really argue with that, but she sure wishes she knew how to keep them from falling for her. It complicates things.

"One of these days your luck's gonna run out, y'know? And you'll meet a psycho-" Jane gives him a look, "-okay, a certifiable one, and she won't let you go so easily, or in one piece. Or…" He snatches the Ray Bans off her face.

"Jesus, Frost. You're gonna pay for that." She doesn't lunge at him like she's tempted to. Damn hangover.

He ignores her. "Or… you'll meet the perfect girl," he stares down her narrowed, bloodshot glare to get his point across, "and sneak out her window at sunrise just because you're too scared to get your shit together and stay still."

"You're right," she agrees with a slight nod.

"Damn right I'm right." He slams the shades on the table in exclamation before doing a double-take. "Wait- what? I'm right?"

Jane quickly grabs her shades and puts 'em back on, trying but failing to hide a smirk.

"Oh, you're just messing with me, ain't ya?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"I really hope you fall for a psycho. Why are we even friends again? You clearly don't listen to me."

"Cause I let you cheat off my test once and now I own your soul."

"Oh yeah, _that_. The **one** time I forget to study…" he shakes his head regretfully. "Still don't get why we still got detention if we both failed with flying colours."

"That's Pike for ya."

They both chuckle at a swarm of memories of terrorising the poor bastard. Mostly Jane, but Frost teases him vicariously through her.

"I heard one of the teachers is retiring."

"God, I hope it's Pike."

"You're preaching to the choir. Plus, you can't be scouted if your GPA's still riding on rims and fumes."

"I'll figure something out," Jane says with surprising conviction.

Basketball is pretty much the only thing she's totally poured her heart into since she joined the team in freshman year. Plus, as the only thing she's really great at, in school anyway, it's her foot in the door to a scholarship, especially since the Rizzoli's are a one-income household now. But the only thing standing in her way is her spectacular ineptitude at anything science-related. Not to mention that Pike is a useless bag of barf.

"Then no more girls," Frost says sarcastically. He tried to be serious, but his friend doesn't inspire much faith considering her recent history with the fairer sex. He doubts she'd be able to stay away for long.

"You're right," she replies, causing Frost to roll his eyes. "No, I mean it this time. A scholarship's way more important than any 'shagging spree'. I was just blowing off some steam. I'm good now."

"You _do_ know that means you can't send _Danielle_ a booty-mail, right?" They laugh as Jane pulls out some cash (tip included) and tucks it under her used coffee mug. She stands up and glances at her wristwatch. It's 8:46; school starts at 9:00.

"Which part of 'no more girls' do you not understand, Frost? C'mon, I don't wanna be late."

He snorts. "We'll see…"

As they reach the café entrance, Jane inadvertently opens the door for a beautiful red-head who smiles and gives Jane the up-and-down. Jane smirks and briefly watches the girl go further on inside before exiting the café herself. Frost sees all of this and a light bulb switches on in his head. He counts on his fingers as he lists off the rules.

"Okay, no more sex," Jane stops and turns to face him. "of **any** kind," he continues, "No making out, no dirty pics or videos," he quirks his eyebrow pointedly, "no breaking hearts, nothing. I'm tempted to even say no **talking** to girls since they could probably cum with your voice alone."

Jane does roll her eyes this time. Ouch.

"So only _talking_ with _all_ our clothes on?"

Frost nods. "_All_ of them."

Jane knows Frost has a point with all this anti-girl-talk, and she truly is listening to what he's saying and believes he is right and a good friend for looking out for her and all that crap. She only has one problem with the whole 'no more girls' thing: the 'no' part.

"Just talking? To each other?"

Frost's eyes sparkle in glee. "Pretend it's me and you'll be fine," he says with a pat on her shoulder on his way past her.

Jane thinks about the last time she ever took the time to actually talk to a girl and listen to what she had to say in return. No pick-up lines or dirty talk or let-her-down-easy speeches. A 'conversation', it's called. She scrunches up her face and shakes her head at the recollection.

She mutters under breath as they quickly make their way over to Frost's car. "I like 'em so much better when they're naked."

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was brought to you by IDA MARIA's '_I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked_'. Thanks for reading! Review if you want to.


	2. Chapter 2: The Nerd

**2. The Nerd**

* * *

On the other side of Town, it's still Thursday morning.

She sits, cross-legged, back straight and hands neatly folded in her lap, on the plush leather seat. The picture of propriety in the pretty but age-appropriate designer dress she ordered online just for the occasion, her shiny golden locks in a French braid and side-swept bangs almost dipping into the view of her spectacles.

"Bonjour, mère," she greets her mother politely.

"Bonjour, ma chérie. I trust you're well rested and ready for today?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replies with a forced cheerfulness.

"Good. You'll be in good hands. I had a lengthy conversation with your Principal, and he assured me you will be treated no differently than any other student. _At your request_," she ends off with well-veiled amusement.

"Thank you, Mother." This is good news. Special treatment would just make her stick out like a sore finger. That isn't to say that her parents wouldn't still use their influence to have Maura's transition go as smoothly as possible… Transition.

The scholar starts fidgeting with her interlaced fingers when the magnitude of the situation sinks further in. Perhaps this isn't such a grand idea, but she can't express her misgivings to her mother should it be taken the wrong way and offend her. Heaven forbid.

"So sorry we can't send you off in person, but with your Father's prior engagements and my exhibition in Dubai, we just can't make it."

"I understand." It isn't a lie. She has come to terms with the fact that work comes first in the Isles household. Professor Isles has his career, Mrs. Isles has her art, therefore she should be content to have her academics to fill her time, and she is. It's all she knows.

"Maura-darling…" urges Constance, wondering what is on her daughter's mind.

"Yes?" answers Maura, hoping her mother has somehow read her mind and can in some way make her feel better about everything.

"Please don't resent us for our decision. You really should try being around people your own age for once. It's not healthy to be so isolated for so long."

She's tempted to ask what took them so long to notice she was 'isolated', but keeps the urge to herself. "No, no. I am sure you know what's best."

For a few uncomfortable moments, neither one speaks for lack of an ice-breaker. The relationship between Maura and her mother has always been a bit strained and awkward at times, this moment for example. She wishes her mother would ask her anything else at all. Small talk, it's called. But just as she's about to ask about the weather in London, Constance bids her good bye.

"Well, I am rather tired and have an early flight in the morning. Have a good day at school. Oh, and Maura-dear?"

"Yes, Mother?"

"Don't forget yourself. You're an Isles. Your father and I expect you to behave as such."

"Always."

"Au revoir."

Maura slumps with a sigh and presses the button to turn the limo's loudspeaker off. It isn't any use trying to watch the scenery through the darkly tinted windows of the household vehicle. She starts feeling a little claustrophobic and feels an impending panic attack about to start.

The chauffeur rolls down the screen window separating the driver from the back seat of the limo. "Is everything alright, Ms Isles?" he asks, having eavesdropped on the prior conversation between mother and daughter. He's been working for the Isles' long enough to gather the extent to how this day would affect his shy, young charge.

Instead of an immediate reply, he hears Maura anxiously whispering to herself, "Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen… Oxygen, I need oxygen…" Her breathing is noticeably heavier, with her cheeks puffing in and out with each breath. She places two fingers to her neck pulse and grabs an emergency brown, paper bag from a hidden compartment. "Please stop the car, Jeffrey. I need some air."

Jeffrey hastily stops the limousine and before long he's on the curb beside her trying to help her calm her breathing.

"Just focus on your breathing, sweetheart. Watch me and copy…" He shows her and she follows, taking air in then letting it whoosh out. Over and over. Eventually she calms down, but only a smidge. "Yes, that's right, dear. Feel better?"

She shakes her head no.

He smiles and kindly asks, "Has this anything to do with where I'm taking you today?"

With a heavy, defeated sigh, she says, "Honestly, Jeffrey, I'm petrified."

When Professor and Mrs. Isles decided it would be best to give their hermit-like daughter a chance at a normal life by thrusting her into the real world before she went off to College, they failed to take into account that Maura's life felt normal to _her_, and thus she is quite positively terrified at the moment. With her acute agoraphobia, leaving the house is a terrifying enough feat on it's own, not to mention her spectacular ineptitude with anything social, especially in social situations involving those within her own age group.

Going to a public high school for the very first time, having been home-schooled all her life, is surely just one giant blunder waiting to happen. Or so she thinks.

"What are you so afraid of?" asks the middle-aged man with a soft spot for the strange young woman.

"Many things. For one, I am _Ephebiphobic_," she says as though it were a word used often in common conversation.

He has become used to her style of conversation, so it isn't a great shock to hear her speak so, but, "Err, what's that?"

"I have an irrational fear of teenagers."

"Oh dear."

"I also suffer from _Scolionophobia_, which is the fear of school. My _Catagelophobia_ keeps me in constant fear of being ridiculed, which I've read teenagers are quite fond of doing, and as for being _Bacteriophobic_-"

"Let me guess, the fear of bacteria?"

"Precisely. Also, I'm surprised I even made it this far in the car. Cars are potentially very dangerous-"

Before she can get carried away in her Amaxophobic* rant, Jeffrey places his hands on her shoulders and says, "Listen to me."

Maura stops talking and stares into the older man's imploring eyes.

Slowly he says, "We're already here."

"Where?" she asks confused.

He nods his head in the direction of the large building to their right, causing her to slowly turn around.

Her blushing face pales when she sees a generous amount of students milling about the front of the entrance, some gawking and pointing toward the limo. A big, green sign with bold, white letters reads, 'Welcome to Boondocks High School. Home of the Bull Dogs'.

The last thing she says breathlessly is, "Cynophobic," before everything goes black.

* * *

**A/N:** This little chapter is brought to you courtesy of _'I Need Air'_ by MAGNETIC MAN. Thanks for reading and do review.

_*__Amaxophobia__: the fear of riding in cars. __Cynophobia__: the fear of dogs_


	3. Chapter 3: Hi My Name Is Maura

**3. Hi My Name Is Maura**

* * *

She's startled awake by a blinding light and the sound of laughter. Her first instinct is to quickly sit up, but her head protests with a pained throb. In an effort to determine her surroundings, she squints, but whichever way she turns, the Sun's reflections seems to be penetrating through her half-closed eyelids.

"Where the fuck are my glasses?" she wonders out loud, asking no one in particular.

Jane's answer comes dripping with smug, yet aggravated arrogance when an annoying, male voice says, "Oh, you mean these?"

Knowing that voice all too well, she takes a deep breath and wills an indifferent façade to blank her face as she looks up.

He's standing right in front of her desk, waving her shades a few inches from her face. When she makes a grab for them he snatches them just out of her reach and says, "They're on their way out through that window if you don't sit up and pay attention in my class, Rizzoli." He punctuates his point by pushing her propped legs off the empty neighboring desk.

Mustering the biggest, fake smile she can, Jane replies, "Morning to you too, Pike."

* * *

The light tap of the cool, wet cloth on her forehead gradually stirs her awake. What a dreadful nightmare she's just had where she dropped out of a UFO onto a high school's grounds and was then chased by a pack of wild dogs. _Phew, good thing it was only a dream_. She sighs and tries to snuggle deeper into her blanket, but it seems to have shrunk considerably and the material feels much rougher, but it smells nice.

"Ms. Isles, are you okay?" asks an unfamiliar voice. Maura's eyes snap open.

Maura's heart pounds a deafening rhythm against her sternum as she slowly sits up and turns to face the owner of the disembodied voice. He's a fairly mature-looking guy with a hard face and a bad suit, but with a handkerchief in one hand and a non-transparent bottle of something in the other, Maura's '_serial killer warning bells'_ start a-tingling. Perhaps the nightmare has only just begun.

In a sudden bold move, and carelessly dropping the garment that was covering her to the floor, she jumps off the couch to her feet and points a finger at him. "Stand back! Or I'll…" _cause you grievous bodily harm_, she finishes in her head, but she knows she doesn't stand a chance against the much larger man, so she changes tactics. "Who are you? Where am I? Is that chloroform? Are you trying to drug me? My parents will not be happy about this! Jeffrey!" she screams at the top of her lungs.

The man quickly looks down at his hands and shakes his head. "What? No, no, no, of course not. I'm not-"

He steps forward, the girl steps back twice, so he stops and takes a step back again. "Would you calm down, Ms. Isles? Let me explain." He puts the things down on his desk and straightens his tie. Clearing his throat, he begins explaining, "I'm Principal Cavanaugh."

Maura is quiet for a moment as she subtly looks around. This must mean she really _is_ at school. She nods in understanding.

"This is my office," he gestures around.

Having already taken into account the framed certificates on the wall, the few photos on the desk, the stack of papers next to them and the fake-gold placard with 'PRINCIPAL CAVANAUGH' engraved on it, she nods again and says, "I gathered," still a bit dazed, a bit confused.

This is all very good and well, but what on earth is she doing here in this room?

"They brought you here after you, uh, fainted and the nurse's office is still missing a nurse, so," he says with a brief smile, "I guess I was the next best thing."

At that revelation, a string of memories from that morning are triggered in Maura's brain and she goes through every single emotion all over again. This is bad. This is remarkably disastrous. What if someone saw her faint? What if _everyone_ saw her faint? She would never ever live it down. She knows how cruel kids can be these days, having had a few unfortunate encounters in her earlier years, and she put a lot of research into the high school ecosystem, so with a first impression like that, she will forever be referred to with some derogatory title such as '_gelata_ _crura_' which is Latin for 'jelly legs'.

Cause every kid knows Latin, right?

"This is just water, by the way," Principal Cavanaugh continues to clarify, pouring the rest of the non-transparent bottle's contents into a glass to prove his statement, "I was just, I dunno, trying to cool you down or something. Thought it might help."

Snapping back to the present moment, Maura acknowledges that he isn't a threat and that she may have overreacted and made a fool of herself once again. The day has only just begun.

"Thank you, Principal Cavanaugh," she replies appreciatively, although her state of affairs still feels dire.

"Don't mention it. Are you okay now?"

Maura does a few quick-fire tests on herself to check for a concussion. "Physically, I'm fine," she says. Emotionally, she is a slinky on a staircase going down, down, down.

"Good," he nods his understanding, undeterred by her strange behavior, and moves toward the door to pick her 'school-bag' up and hand it over. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

The new girl immediately follows him out into the corridor. "If you don't mind, Principal Cavanaugh, I would prefer to skip the tour and head straight to my first class, Biology."

She read somewhere that a good impression on teachers helps create and maintain a good working relationship with them, which may prove beneficial in the long run. Besides, her mother would be upset if she were to be late to anything.

"I'm already extremely late. I printed out the map and timetable I was e-mailed. They should suffice for my navigational and scheduling needs here forth." Then a thought is triggered in her head. "Where is Jeffrey?" she asks, suddenly wondering how long she'd been unconscious.

Principal Cavanaugh recognizes that as the name of the man who helped drop the girl off in his office. He pats his trouser pockets and then the pocket on the inside of his jacket before pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it over to her. "Here."

Maura gives the older gentleman a questioning look before unfolding it and reading as they walked.

'**Ms Isles**

**I trust you had a nice little nap. If you're reading this you must still be at school, and I must be at the estate. Do not panic. I beg of you. It'll all be fine. Just try to embrace this new experience. Immersion therapy, like you've told me before. I will see you after school.**

**Jeffrey**'

Maura smiles at the sweet gesture of her chauffeur leaving such a note. He always has the most faith in her and pays the most attention, especially when her own parents are busy globe-trotting for months at a time. He even taught her how to ride a bicycle; a memory she truly treasures. So if he believes it will be fine, even after her little fainting spell, then maybe it will. Maybe. The chances are slim at best, but if things don't work out, she can always go back to being home-schooled, right?

At that very moment, Maura Dorothea Isles decides to try to stop being so paranoid and fully immerse herself in this experience. As overwhelming as it is, this is her chance at being a normal teenage girl for once, instead of '_Ms. Isles the genius-girl and heir to the Isles fortune and estates_'. Maybe there are some nice students who share her love of Science and fencing and fashion and maybe she can finally make some friends!

A little smile creeps up on her face at that thought. Yep, the 'F' word. She's always wanted a friend. A smart, kind and funny friend, preferably with exceptional personal hygiene and similar interests. In a pool of hundreds of students, those chances are surely less slim, but none of it may ever happen if her parents find out about this morning and take her out of the school.

"Principal Cavanaugh," she says, "do you mind if we refrain from disclosing the details of this past hour's events to my parents? There's no need to worry them. I'm perfectly fine."

"Gladly," agrees the headmaster almost too eagerly. He really didn't want the Isles matriarch catching wind of this and suing the school or something.

"And please, call me Maura." She's begrudgingly gotten used to the staff back home referring to her as Ms. Isles, but somehow it didn't feel right having the high school's headmaster address her so formally when she is merely a student. Is this special treatment she senses?

"Okay, Maura. You can call me… Principal Cavanaugh's fine." Perhaps not.

As Maura and Principal Cavanaugh round the corner to her first lecture of the day, they hear some shouting coming out of what will be her Chemistry & Biology classroom for her Senior year. She feels like she's eavesdropping on the tail-end of a very heated exchange, but at that volume, it was hardly private.

"-late for my class, and then you make a blatant mockery of me and this classroom in front of my students?!"

"I plead the 5th," replies another calmer voice.

"I suggest you go visit the Principal's office before I give you another detention slip," the first voice says.

"Is that supposed to be punishment or reward?" replies the other voice before a round of hushed laughter rings out from the classroom.

As they approach the door, it swings open to reveal a tall figure in black jeans, a white Jimi Hendrix t-shirt and dark sunglasses storming out and in the direction she and the principal just came from.

"I'll be in your office, Sir," the stranger salutes in Cavanaugh's direction before walking past them further down the hall. Maura can't be sure if she hit her head during her fall, but she could swear that the girl smirked at her as she went. Her head involuntarily turns with the tall, dark figure's retreating form as it disappears around a corner, but she only snaps out of it when the headmaster introduces her to the other old man donning a scowl and an angry blush.

"This is the Isles kid," the Principal says shortly.

"Oh. Well, _there_ goes your lab partner," the other man motions out the door before exhaling a loud sigh and regaining his composure. "I'm Dr. Pike," he says, "Hopefully you're a much more pleasant student than _these_ hoodlums. I heard you're quite the young whiz kid," he says skeptically giving her the up-and-down.

With a nervous smile, Maura quietly apologizes for being late and asks where she should sit.

"Hold on," he says before turning to the rest of his students. "Class, this is the new student I was talking about." Pike turns back to her. "Introduce yourself."

Maura forgets to speak when she notices the dead-silence that has enveloped the classroom from its earlier ruckus. With a slight turn of her head she's faced with about two-dozen pairs of eyes staring straight at her. This makes her extremely uncomfortable, but she can't afford to have yet another vasovagal episode. Her imagination flashes to a mob of bullies chanting '_gelata crura_' over and over.

Trying her best to exude as much confidence as she can, the newbie says, "Hi, I'm Maura Isles."

The class just stare.

Pike pipes up, "C'mon, let's give her a good ol' Boondocks High welcome..." They continue to just look at her, "...that sounds about right. Go sit over there," he points to the far left corner of the room before turning his back to the class and writing on the board, "Now, as I was saying before…"

With two-dozen plus pairs of eyes following her progress to the designated seat, Maura is as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, so when she finally reaches it, she releases a sigh of sweet relief.

"Ah-ah-ah, not that one. The one **next** to it," she hears from the front of the classroom, jolting her to quickly shift seats before anyone notices, but it's what _she_ notices next which draws the most attention. Right there in front of her are crumbs of dirt and a shoe print on her desk. Bacteria alert!

She squeals in shock, rifles through her bag for those handy wet-wipes and thoroughly cleans her seating area before settling down and opening her textbook to the relevant section. Then she hears the snickers and whispers.

_'OCD much?'_

_'What a spaz'_

_'Another nerd fights the dust'_

_'Isn't that the girl who fain-'_

"Pay attention!" demands Pike when he realizes that no one's attention is on him.

The bell rings for the next period and everyone switches books while Maura thinks to herself, _Could things get any worse?_

* * *

_I'm a new soul_

_ I came to this strange world, hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take._

_But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear,_

_Finding myself making every possible mistake._

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of _'New Soul'_ by YAEL NAIM. Thanks for reading. Review if you want to.


	4. Chapter 4: Love At First Fight

**4. Love At First Fight (aka The Bet)**

* * *

"Ma," she whines for the umpteenth time with a hand running through her hair, "_please_ get back to work. _Please_? Please."

Angela's eyebrows shoot up and she places her fisted hands on her hips. This is her fighting stance. Jane knows she's in for it.

"Oh. You want me to go," she starts off as a matter-of-fact. "What, is it a crime to wanna see my _only_ daughter at _least_ **once** every other day, huh? To make sure she isn't lying in some ditch, or got hit by a bus or something? Is it **so** wrong to wanna make sure my baby girl, **my** baby girl, who's too busy for her **own** **mother**- Hey, remember me? It's your **loving** mother checking on you during her break-"

"It's lunch-time," the teen interjects.

"And?" Angie exclaims a bit affronted, _as if she didn't know that_. "Wanna tell me something else obvious?"

Jane does exactly that. "You're the lunch-lady. You don't _get_ a break right now."

Moving forward to wave an accusatory finger in her kid's face, Angela gets to the source of her annoyance, "Don't change the subject. Where were you last night? You didn't answer any of my calls. I swear to God if you're in some gang or fight club, Janie- And don't think I don't know about your detention, _'Ms. Rebel without a Pause'_. I bet you mouthed off again, didn't ya? Always gotta be a smart-ass, just like your father. That's what always gets you in trouble-"

Jane knows not to disrupt her mother during one of her tirades, so she waits patiently… until that one particularly sensitive button is pushed. The 'F' word.

In a quiet but serious voice, Jane interrupts her Ma, stating, "I'm nothing like him."

Taken aback, Angela stares at her daughter for a few long moments, taking in the tension in her face and the way her eyes just went dark and unfocused. The girl's always been mouthy, but name one Rizzoli who isn't. What's more concerning to her is when her Janie gets all quiet and broody like this. Angela's own expression softens a bit.

Starting to feel weirded out by her mother's sympathetic gaze, Jane breaks the silence. "Look, can we talk about this later? I already feel like shi- Ow!" exclaims the foul-mouthed daughter of a Catholic Italian mother with a mean back-hand.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" asks the older woman as the younger tries to soothe her stinging arm. Just then two giggling girls walk past, earning them a tag-team death-glare from both mother and daughter, instantly sobering their expressions. Once they're out of sight, Angela produces two painkillers for Jane's ever-growing headache. "Here, you look like shit."

Jane rolls her eyes at the irony of it being okay for her Ma to swear like a sailor, but when _she_ does it, she gets thwacked by the proverbial hand of God. "Mm, so I've been told," is her sardonic reply, but she gratefully dry-swallows the pills, hoping they kick in soon. "Thanks."

Angela starts absent-mindedly fiddling with Jane's unruly hair. "You want a lift after detention?" she offers in a suspiciously sweet sing-song voice.

Jane eyes her Ma closely and slowly answers, "Sure…" before encircling her wrists to pull those handsy hands away from her hairy hair.

"Good, 'cause I don't want you out of my sight, missy. You're grounded," she points pointedly, "forever."

Jane saw that one coming from a mile away, but her jaw still drops quicker than a hooker's panties. "Grounded? For what?" she protests, but then on second thought, "Don't answer that."

"_Mmhmm_…" hums the Rizzoli matriarch knowingly. Before Jane can make her escape, Angela starts fretting over her attire. "Were you rough-housing again? What happened to your jacket?"

"I dropped it. Now are you done babying me, 'cause I'd like to go eat something."

"That better not be code for hanky panky."

"Wha- Oh my G- Eww! Ma?!" Jane exclaims in a harsh whisper. This conversation has to end as soon as now.

"What, you think I'm not up-to-date on the lingo these days?"

"Why can't you just go to PFLAG meetings like normal parents?"

"Because I'd rather watch the L word with you," she jokes, causing Jane to groan in embarrassment, "Speaking of which, I overheard some girls talking earlier, and one of them seems to really like you." Ma Rizzoli is clearly excited about this development, but Jane wants to nip it in the bud.

"Oh no. No, no, no. Nope, I am **not** doing this with you," she shakes her head, but the other woman tunes her out.

"Y'know Carla Talucci's sister-in-law's niece, Bonnie? You remember her, she wears that cute little fedora hat. Did you even know she goes to the same school as you?" Angela turns to point the subject out inside the crowded cafeteria of students but Jane lightly swats her hand to stop her.

"Tell me you did **not** talk to her," she pleads.

Angela does a double-take. "Well…" she starts before continuing in what she believes to be a hushed voice, "I just thought since I never _see_ you with anyone, maybe you're not so good at talking to girls."

Jane places her arms akimbo and shakes her head while staring at the ground, wishing it would just swallow her whole and choke. This cannot be happening. Not today, not here, not while her thinky-thing's mosh-pitting in her head. But happening, it is...

"It's okay to be shy, sweetie. And if you need some help finding a nice girl-"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Jane swiftly moves past her mother to fully enter the lunchroom, mumbling, "Frost's waiting for me," but Angela sees this conversation ending a little differently.

"Jane Clem-"

Jane quickly whirls around to put a hand over her Ma's mouth mid-shout. "Whoa! Hey, c'mon, really! Really, Ma? With the name-calling?"

"Well, it's your name, isn't it?" Angela replies, oblivious to her daughter's angst.

"Not everybody needs to know that," is the riled retort through gritted teeth.

"You were gonna just walk away without even a hug or a kiss. What else was I supposed to do?" asks the doting mother with an innocent shrug of her shoulders.

'_I see what you're doing here, old lady_', thinks Jane as she narrows her eyes, but a small smile sneaks onto her lips. "So needy," she says as she goes in for a quick peck on the cheek.

"I have stretch marks for you."

Jane rolls her eyes. "You make a beautiful zebra, Ma."

Angela playfully swats her daughter's arm and says, "Love you too, sweetie. Be good."

Walking away, Jane can't help but compare that tornado of a conversation with the brief one she had earlier with the Principal…

"_Hey, Mr Cav-"_

"_Enough small talk. I'm no babysitter. Get outta my office."_

"_Nice chat, Sir."_

… then she picked up her jacket off the floor and left for the gym to shoot some hoops.

Jane enters the lunchroom, bypassing a variety of curious eyes, and swaggers straight to her usual table where she finds her best bud chowing like a champion. She flops down opposite him in front of the food tray he got for her. They always do that for each other if either one is running late. There are other people at the table, but they're mostly the 'hi-bye' type of friends. She ignores them.

"I knew you'd have a tough time following the rules," says the computer hacker.

"Don't I always? But what are you talking about?"

"What we discussed this morning?"

This morning…? A lot happened this… Oh. Realization dawns on Jane. The whole 'no more girls' thing. But wait, she hasn't done anything. "Whatcha on about? I haven't even looked at any girls today."

"Then who was _that_?" asks Jane's confused boy-friend.

"Who?" she asks back before taking a big bite of her sandwich.

"That hottie you just kissed in front of the entire school. You holdin' out on me, Rizzoli?" Frost likes to think that Jane tells him everything, and Jane lets him think that, but he's never seen her with anyone from around the school, plus she hates PDA, so this is odd.

"That was Ma, you perve," she says trying not to choke on her barely chewed food.

"My bad," laughs Frost, "I only saw her from behind, so…" he shrugs.

"I always knew you were an '_ass man_'," she jabs good-naturedly.

Steering clear of any further discussion of Angela Rizzoli's rear view, Frost says "I'm assuming she didn't come all the way here to bring you your lunch…" He briefly wonders if she got suspended.

"Nope, she's here to bring _everyone's_ lunch," she nods her head toward the newest cafeteria employee across the room.

At this new revelation, Frost's face changes into one that closely resembles a bored housewife watching her favorite soap opera at the very moment that the plot takes a riveting twist. "Oh snap," he snaps his fingers. "She works here now? What are the odds?"

"Whatever they are, they're clearly not in my favor today."

He chuckles at his friend, wondering how many times she'll be complaining about her mother's overbearing nature and embarrassing antics. Never a dull moment with the Rizzoli's.

"You just did a little cartwheel in your head, didn't you?"

"A little one, yeah."

"Glad you find this funny."

Frost rolls his eyes and sarcastically says, "I don't see the big deal. It's not like she got the job just to keep an eye on you."

Angela's daughter replies straightaway, "Wanna bet?" but Frost's answering laughter is answer enough. "Exactly." Lowering her voice to a whisper, she reveals her first issue with this arrangement, "She wants to set me up with the friggin' fedora girl."

"Bonnie? You could do worse, y'know." Under his breath he mutters, "You probably have…"

Hearing him loud and clear, the lady lady-killer is offended by her friend's comment. Joking about it is one thing, but for some reason, she gets the feeling that he totally believes she's some heartless, womanizing sex addict. It's time to set him straight.

"Why you gotta be like that, man?" Her tone is clearly annoyed.

"Like what?" His tone is calculated as if he knows which buttons he's pushing.

"Like I sleep with anything in a skirt."

Frost quirks an eyebrow. "If you had sperm, you would've fathered a nation by now."

"If _you_ had sperm-"

"Hey." He puts his hands up in truce, but then says, "I just call 'em as I see 'em." He shrugs, knowing exactly what his friend's reaction will be.

"And I'm telling you you're wrong." She's trying not to sound as irritated as she is, but her façade is cracking like recycled cement on a TV show finale episode. It's a saying.

"Wanna bet?" he says off-handedly, but Jane takes the bait.

"Actually, yeah. I do." She nods in challenge.

"Alright, I'm willing to bet my left nut that you couldn't last a month without sex."

Jane scoffs into a chuckle. That's ridiculous. "Pshh… A month? Piece of cake. You could even make it two," she says confidently before scrunching up her face in disgust, "And I like your left nut just fine where it is." She has a sip of water.

"Alright, **three** months without sex," he says, "_and_ you have to get to know at least **one** girl within that time."

The second part of that sentence causes Jane to do a spit-take. She knew there would be a catch.

"Only talking with our clothes on, right?"

"Correct."

"What's at stake?"

Frost shrugs his shoulders, "You'll learn how to be attentive. That's a valuable lesson and should be reward enough." Jane gives him an '_I'm still waiting_' look. "I dunno. You get to focus on other more important things like school and basketball, I guess."

"No way. You're insulting my character here. Not only do I wanna prove you wrong, you gotta pay damages, man."

"Fine, whataya want?"

Jane looks around at the table and finally sees that the others have been listening in the entire time. She decides to text Frost instead.

His phone chimes. He reads the message. His eyes bug out. "What?! You're outta your mind."

Then _he_ texts what he wants his prize to be 'when' she loses. Jane forgets to even ask how he'll know if she's lost the bet when she reads his text.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I kid you not." He seems pretty confident she'll lose. Jane wants to wipe that smug smile right off his handsome face.

She pretends to spit in her palm and holds her hand out with a dark smirk. He slowly lifts his own hand up, and does the same. They shake on it, and thus the bet is made.

Some might think it's a little extreme, but these two have been making bets about anything and everything for as long as they've known each other. Last time they bet on who could eat nothing but protein bars for the longest. Frost won, but Jane can't complain about the positive effects of the protein bars coupled with basketball training on her physique.

The school bell rings.

"Wanna play a pickup game after detention?" asks Frost as he gets up.

"Nope, I'm grounded," says Jane with a Cheshire grin.

"What? You didn't tell me that. That's cheating."

If she's grounded, then her chances of sneaking out to bed random girls are slim anyway. This changes everything.

"Too late, we already shook on it. Back out now and I win."

"I am so sabotaging you."

"I'd like to see you try."

* * *

It's been a long first day back at school for the students of Boondocks High, but for some, the after-school bell means the day is far from over.

She shuts her locker and starts a leisurely walk through the emptying hallways, kicking the ones she knows belong to those few stupid jerks from the football team. She can't stand them.

She stops in front of the door to the detention hall. She knows the drill: if you have luggage, leave it up-front, sit down, take the register and then pretend to write lines as punishment for your sins. She sighs. If she's lucky, she'll get Ms. Frisby who doesn't give a rat's ass what you do as long as she can read her Xena femslash in peace.

Jane walks in and her prayers are answered.

"You're late, Rizzoli. That's another detention."

Any other schoolchild would have been intimidated by the pudgy brunette lady wearing thick-brimmed eye-glasses on her unsmiling face and tap-tapping a wooden ruler menacingly against her palm. Not Jane Rizzoli. "It's a date," she winks at the young teacher, knowing her chain is being yanked. Noting the near-empty room, "Slow business, eh?"

"It's only the first day," says Ms. Frisby with an exaggerated eye-roll, "give Pike a chance to warm up."

Even the teachers think the Science teacher is a handful. Jane chuckles softly to herself. He's certainly met his match in her.

Checking with her register, Ms. Frisby says, "Well, since it's just you two, I'm gonna head out for a minute. I'll be right back."

Jane reckons she needs the ladies' room or something. She spots the Louis Vuitton bag at the front of the class and then turns around only noticing now that there is another girl in the room.

The Math teacher leaves the girls alone.

From where she's standing, the raven-haired tomboy can see a petite, fair-skinned, golden brunette girl with glasses, fervently cleaning a desk with wet wipes. Briefly she wonders if the girl spilled something on it or if she's just one of those neat-freaks. She watches her for a while and Maura eventually stops.

Okay, so speaking of long days, the new girl has had a spectacularly unsuccessful one. Classmates mocked her hygiene routine and the way she talks, whispering behind her back, she spent lunch crying in the bathroom and avoiding everyone, but the cherry on top is when a certain teacher gave her detention for politely correcting him. Detention. She thought she would've at least gotten credit for her valuable input to the lesson, but she was evidently mistaken. Never having felt this humiliated and alone in her life, she is **this** close to giving up on the entire school experience completely. So the next person to make fun of her had better watch out.

"Lemme guess, your Dad's Adrian Monk?" Jane asks, commenting on the other girl's OCD behavior.

Maura has obviously never watched most TV shows, so she just shakes her head and says, "You shouldn't make guesses," in an icy but quiet voice, before finally looking up to find playful chocolate browns.

It isn't so much _what_ she said as it is _how_ she said it that gets Jane thinking that maybe this girl is not in a talkative mood. "_Oookay_…" says the tall Boston-Italian girl moving to sit directly behind the smaller Boston-Irish girl.

Maura recognizes her as the girl who was forcefully excused from Dr. Pike's classroom earlier, except now she's wearing a denim jacket. A familiar-looking jacket. This must be her lab partner.

When Jane puts her feet up on her desk as she pulls out her iPod from her pocket, the germophobe can't help but cringe internally. The mystery of the dirty shoeprint is solved.

Jane notices the other girl staring at her with veiled disdain. If it was anyone else, they wouldn't notice, but Jane is very good at reading body language. Pretty sure this isn't one of her angry exes, she asks, "Something wrong?"

Maura snaps out of her head. She was too busy observing how poor this girl's etiquette is with her dusty combat boots propped up like that. Something her mother frowned upon immensely. Not wanting to potentially upset her fellow classmate she guides the conversation to safer territory.

"I- I'm your partner. Lab partner," she stumbles.

"You're the new girl?" asks Jane, genuinely surprised. She gives her the up-and-down. "To be honest, when Pike said you were some child prodigy, I was expecting you to be…"

"Younger?"

"I guess that too. But mostly Asian," Jane jokes, hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

Jane Rizzoli, Sultan of Sarcasm, meet Maura Isles, Lady Literal.

"So what you're saying is that every Asian student in the United States school system is some sort of scientific mastermind, and vice versa?" she asks, but doesn't leave room for any reply, "That may, in part, be due to the catalysis of stereotypes through modern media and pop culture, but many studies recognize that no single trait or test can identify every gifted child, and while Asian students are usually within the top academic percentile and tend to do exceedingly well when compared to other groups, they only make up, on average, less than 5% of student body populations and classrooms. Therefore that stereotype is misleading, as is your syllogism. It would be the same as suggesting every Asian knows martial arts."

Jane just stares blankly for a moment. Then she blinks. This girl may just be a genius after all, but did she really have to go on like that? It was just a joke.

"Oh. I see it now. But if you're so smart, how come you're in detention?"

Maura starts blinking really fast and her eyes start watering. She turns around and sits down, electing to pretend she didn't hear the question so she doesn't have to relive the second most awful encounter of the day. Her mother's words echo in her thoughts. _'You're an Isles, behave as such'_. Landing up in detention on the first day must be the epitome of misbehaviour.

Behind her back, a different dilemma is brewing. Jane is confused by whatever's going on right now. No amount of conversing with her mother had prepared her for **this**.

"Are you- Why are you crying?" Was it something she said or is this girl off her meds or something?

Not turning around, Maura says, "Sorry, I can't control the connection between my amygdala and lachrymal gland."

"Your what now? Don't tell me you always talk like that," Jane says with an eye-roll. She's a little puzzled by whatever the honey brunette is trying to say, and doesn't have the patience to try and decipher it, but her humanity pulls a napkin out of her jacket pocket and reaches over to hand it to the teary-eyed teen. "Here."

"Thank you," Maura wipes her cheeks but a new fire has already started in her eyes. How dare this stranger mock the way she talks? She turns around to say one last thing. "But I refuse to censor myself to comfort your ignorance."

All Jane hears is _'I'm smarter than you'_. What the hell? Gloves officially off. But before she can say anything:

"Rizzoli," says Ms. Frisby as she walks into the room in a great hurry, "and Isles. Why don't you two go on home?"

The two girls simultaneously look at the woman.

Maura finds this odd, to say the least, "We've only been here for six minutes."

"I'm sure you've both learnt your lessons," says the fanfic-fan in a placating tone as she waves them over toward the door. "Whatever you did, just don't do it again."

Getting to her feet, Jane says, "Ma'am, you're acting awfully suspicious. But I am not complaining." She would rather go home and sleep than stay here and sleep.

Without any further hesitation, Maura collects her things from the front of the room and leaves in a hurry of her own. She just wants to forget this day and cry in peace.

Before Jane can make her own exit, Ms. Frisby stops her.

"What did you say to her?" she asks concerned, having seen the teary-eyed girl.

Jane has no idea what to say, so by default she jokes, "I may have told her that… Santa Claus doesn't exist."

Ms. Frisby rolls her eyes. "Get outta here."

* * *

_We're only young and naive still_

_We require certain skill_

_The mood it changes like the wind_

_Hard to control when it begins_

* * *

**A/N:** Phew! Finally, their first day is over. I'm sure they just got off on the wrong foot. They'll probably fall in love very soon, haha. But then again, they never listen to me. Review and lemme know what you think about this chapter, brought to you courtesy of _'Young Blood'_ by THE NAKED & FAMOUS.

* * *

**Irrelevant A/N:** Aaargh!


	5. Chapter 5: TGIF

**5. TGIF: That Girl Is Fine**

* * *

Maura Isles is lost.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, of course. Fresh air, a bit of Sun, exercise, nature appreciation, and most importantly a sense of getting back in control of her own bearings before starting another dreaded day… all that jazz. Riding her bicycle to school was an excellent idea in theory, but in 3-D hindsight, with a light sheen of sweat on her skin, eyes squinting to avoid direct exposure to the Sun's harsh rays bouncing off her spectacles, loud traffic causing a bit of a headache and clouds of car exhaust polluting her slightly labored gulps of air, not to mention the fact that she doesn't recognize any of the streets… yeah, bad idea.

"I don't want to go back," she had said immediately when her chauffeur picked her up after detention the day before. "I immersed myself but now I just may need real therapy."

A bit dramatic, thought Jeffrey, but it's to be expected from most teenagers. Then again, Maura Isles is not most teenagers. "What happened?" he asked over his shoulder while driving back to the estate.

"Murphy's Law may just be a sure science, Jeffrey. Today was proof enough for me."

As she narrated the events of the day to him, complete with side-notes and 'fun facts', he nodded understandingly mm-ing and ah-ing accordingly. Maura got so worked up that she wouldn't have realised if she was talking to herself all the way through the car ride, upstairs to her bedroom to drop off her school stuff, back downstairs to the kitchen for a snack, and then to the study where she planned on reading ahead for all her classes. The older gentleman just followed her and allowed her to vent, knowing his real job was done for the day anyway. The next thing he knew, she had talked herself into giving it another shot, on the condition that she gets to ride her bike to school. Such a simple solution? The limo attracted too much attention, she said.

And now here she is, somewhere. Nowhere.

Maura slows her bike to a stop on the sidewalk. If she's anywhere near her destination, there's certainly no sign of it. With a gentle huff she takes off her glasses with one hand and swipes the back of it across her forehead. With her other hand she reaches down for a bottle of water.

Yep, Maura Isles is lost.

* * *

Jane Rizzoli is in a bad mood. Don't ask.

With a hand dangling out the rolled-down window and her wild mane gently whipping about with the wind, she's so deep in thought behind her dark sunglasses, she almost misses Frost stealing a quick but amused glance at her. Judging by the smug look on his face, she knows he's up to no good.

"What's so funny?" Jane asks her annoying best friend who's been grinning at her the whole ride this morning. It's starting to make her feel a little self-conscious, not that she would ever admit that to anyone.

Frost chuckles, focusing his eyes back on the road ahead. "Oh, nothing. Nothing," he says, waving her off. "So, how'd the talk with your Mom go?"

Jane groans internally at the memory. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"You don't wanna talk about your talk, or you just don't wanna talk?" he asks with a chuckle, but getting only angst-ridden silence in return, he adds, "That bad, huh?"

This time her groan is quite audible. "Worse."

Turning the car into an emptying street he says, "What's worse than getting grounded forever?"

"Forever and a day," is her grumpy reply, and even though the delivery is humorless, Frost snorts into a sudden loud laugh. "Okay, spit it out."

Frost opens his mouth with the intention of brushing off her suspicions, but then thinks better of it.

"Just, uh," he starts off, "I like your shirt."

Jane looks down at her clothes and wonders what the Hell he's on about. Since when does he comment on how she dresses?

"Since when do you comment on how I dress?"

"Since when do you wear purple?"

Jane wears a lot of black, white and grey. A pop of color every now and then when she finds a really cool colorful tee, but other than that, she doesn't bother.

"You got something against the color purple, Frost?"

"Of course not. I'm a huge Oprah fan," Frost answers, earning a smile, "But, y'know what they say about wearing purple, right?"

"Enlighten me." Sarcasm.

"It means you're sexually frustrated." Nonsense.

Jane rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "Really? Then they shoulda never let Barney around all of those kids."

"Maybe," he chuckles with her, "but you never wear purple, so this must be a sign."

"It means you were honking at me so I grabbed the nearest shirt and threw it the fuck on."

"I only did that because your phone was off."

"Well, Ma took it. Whataya want me to do?"

"No wonder you're so grumpy."

"Try being Angela Rizzoli's only daughter and see how chipper you are every morning."

"Excuses, excuses," he shakes his head. "Maybe you should just give up now. I don't think you'll make it through the weekend with all these young and impressionable hot girls around, just begging for some Rizzoli lovin'," he says in a sleazy Barry White-esque voice, waggling his eyes in the cheesiest way.

"You're gross. Go worry about your own love life for once."

"Whatever."

Even though she finds him incredibly annoying at times, Frost always tries to cheer her up when she's in a bad space. She makes a note to thank him for that some time, and get him a girlfriend so he can get off her case.

"Look over there," Frost nods his head towards the sidewalk, "a damsel in distress. She's probably waiting just for you, Jane. Her knightress, in… purple armor."

To her credit, at first Jane doesn't even look in the direction he's indicating since this is probably one of his sad attempts at sabotaging her to win their bet, but as the car gets closer he says, "Wait, isn't that the new girl?"

The last two words get Jane's attention and she glances over.

Perched on a shiny, pink bicycle with one foot on the ground to keep stationary and balanced, are a pair of strong but creamy, smooth legs. Or so Jane imagines. Crouching to get a better full-length view past Frost and his big-ass head, Jane confirms that it is indeed the new girl. Her lab partner with whom she had the weirdest conversation the day before, and they were clearly not even meant to run in the same circles, but for some reason she just stares at her in her nice red shorts, girly white top and hair in a ponytail.

_She's actually not half-bad_. At. All. Jane catches herself almost drooling and slowly looks away thinking, '_Maybe I am sexually frustrated_'.

"She looks a bit lost," says Frost slowing the car down.

"Keep driving," mumbles Jane, though she isn't sure why.

"Hey," Frost hollers out hoping no cars are behind his, "need a ride to school?"

Almost choking on her last sip of bottled water, Maura fails to notice it spill on her blouse as she turns her head to lock eyes with a striking, dark boy sticking his elbow and head out the window of his car. He seems vaguely familiar to her but she's pretty sure they have never met.

"Do you also attend Boondocks High School?" she asks hopefully.

"Yeah," he says, trying not to look at her chest, "we're actually not that far off."

When a car starts hooting for the boy to proceed, Maura decides it's easier to just stay on her bicycle. "I'll follow on my bike." And just in case he's an unsavory character, she shouldn't ride in cars with strangers, right? No matter how handsome they are. This day is looking up already.

"Sounds good."

When he resumes driving, Frost has a huge grin on his face. It's a different grin and Jane immediately recognizes it from the very few times she's seen it on his face.

"Y'know what, Janie," _Janie? He never calls her that. What's happening?_ "On second thought, maybe I really should start worrying about my own love life for once."

What the f- oh...

He likes her.

Jane Rizzoli's mood just got worse.

* * *

**A/N:** Interlude...


	6. Chapter 6: Disagree To Disagree

**6. Disagree To Disagree**

* * *

No one ever listens to her. Ever. Not her family, not even her friends or teammates, and sure as hell none of the girls who have pursued her. People _pretend_ to listen, but really they're just waiting for her to stop talking and do whatever it is they want her to do. She doesn't blame them, of course, because when all that ever comes out of your mouth are sarcastic two-cents and other garbage disguised in _that voice_, people tend to wanna stop listening and just hear, and then not hear.

So imagine Jane's surprise when Frost, second only to Ma Rizzoli when it comes to telling _her_ what to do, decides to take Jane's own offhandedly offered accidental advice.

Having never actually been in this position of voyeur before, Jane decides to hang back and watch everything unfold as her boy takes care of business. She's pretty sure that the new girl will blow her friend off as soon as she parks her princess pink pushbike, which is a shame because he's a nice guy, but seeing Frost talk to a girl is one show Jane just cannot miss. He gets all flustered and blushy and stuttery, and if she weren't so used to him ragging on her about her game, she'd probably find it endearing. But then they get to school and **this** happens:

"Thank you so much," says the honey-brunette, sincerely, "I thought I had the path correctly memorized, but I may have taken a wrong turn too many."

"No problem!" replies Frost, who couldn't have gotten out of the car any faster if cops had pulled him over. _Eager much, buddy?_ "You were a-actually taking a shortcut. And you don't-didn't know it." Wow. He thought he had overcome that stuttering problem a long time ago. Now isn't a good time to have it come back, but luckily, the girl either didn't notice or is gracious enough to overlook it.

Jane rolls her eyes as she watches over the hood with an arm propped on the top edge of the open door. Then the weirdest thing happens. They have 'a moment'. Like, one of those weird boy-meets-girl-rom-com-gag-me movie 'moments'. Either Frost forgot how to string a sentence together, or his other brain is in overdrive, but either way, this is getting embarrassing so Jane slams the car door to startle them out of their little 'moment' and back to here and now.

It works for Frost, who quickly realises the school bell has also chimed, and Maura gratefully welcomes it having been at a loss for what else to say to the boy. It was starting to get awkward and she momentarily curses her own public awkwardness for not knowing what to say.

Upon Jane's materialization from behind the car "Oh," exclaims the new student, "I didn't see you there." This is probably the last person she expected to see first thing in the morning, especially after their exchange during detention yesterday.

"How could you, with his big-ass head in the way?"

Recognizing a good-natured jab when he hears one, Frost only acts affronted with a, "Hey! Be nice."

However, unable to recognize it, Maura is kind enough to inform, "I would actually say his head to body ratio based on sex, build and a rough estimate of his age, is well within the realm of good proportion."

Blink. Blink.

"Uh, yeah. What she said," adds Frost helpfully.

Rolling her eyes, Jane then realizes they've been moving forward. She stops walking and turns to face the two trailing her into the school. Instead of moving on past her, they stop as well.

"Is there a reason why you're following me?"

"Yes," says Maura, "I wanted to give you this."

Maura hands the taller girl a piece of custom stationary paper with very neat hand-writing on it. Jane looks down at the paper, then at Frost, and back at Maura. "Your number?"

Frost's head whips around so fast, he may need an exorcism.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Are you kidding me? Tell me you're kidding." He just can't believe it. What's a guy gotta do to get a girl around here?

"No, that's not my number," smiles the golden brunette, pushing her glasses further up her nose as an attempt at hiding a blush from the question.

"It's not?" both Jane and Frost ask simultaneously. Maura looks between them thinking how odd their reactions are. Of course it's not her number.

"It was written on the napkin you gave me yesterday. I thought it might be important."

A sweet sigh of relief is exhaled from the lungs of one very smitten boy. He even forgets to wonder why his best friend would give the new girl a napkin with some other girl's number on it.

"Right," smirks Jane before crumpling it up and taking a long shot straight into a trash can up ahead.

When one of her old basketball team-mates calls her out, Jane goes over for a chat. Anything to get away from this weirdness.

"Is she your friend?" Maura asks Frost, once Jane is out of ear-shot.

Not knowing whether she sounds impressed or annoyed, almost apologetically, Frost answers, "Yeah. Don't mind her, she's in a purple mood."

"Purple?" What an odd thing to say.

Realizing there's no way anyone would get the inside joke, he says, "Never mind. That's just how Jane is sometimes, but she's always got my back when it counts so I just put up with her, y'know?" He smiles at the girl to show he's just kidding.

"I suppose that's admirable," is her reply, although she doesn't understand why 'Jane' makes fun of him if they're supposed to be friends.

"I'm Barry Frost, by the way. Sometimes I'll have an entire conversation with someone and forget to ask their name."

"Nice to meet you, Barry. I'm Maura." They shake hands. Frost lingers. "I'm new here. This is my second day."

"How are you liking it so far?"

The nerdy girl ponders that question for a nanosecond. "I'm not."

"Oh, wow. That's very… direct."

* * *

A little while later, Frost enters the classroom, curiously alone, and Jane asks where his girlfriend is.

"She went to freshen up," he sits beside her, "and by the way, dibs. Unless…"

Jane just looks at him. Is he implying what she thinks he's implying? "We met yesterday. Fully-clothed," is her deadpan response.

Frost isn't sold and pointedly repeats, "Unless…" with an ambiguous hand gesture.

"I haven't touched her, Frost, jeez."

"Good, because I invited her to have lunch with us."

"You what?!"

At that moment the girl in question enters the classroom with Ms. Frisby hot on her heels wearing a scarf. This tells Jane all she needs to know about why detention was cut so short yesterday, and so the Math lesson begins…

For some. For others, the period is an opportunity to catch up and make silly jokes behind the teacher's back (because no one would dare do it to her face).

While Maura and a few other involuntary volunteers answer questions and discuss Math problems, Jane's at the back talking crap. At one point the studious student even volunteers to work out a problem on the board. She does it three different ways like some Olympic mathlete. What a show off, right?

"Thank you, Maura, for that thorough answer," beams Ms. Frisby ignoring the persistent itch under her scarf. The teacher actually found it refreshing to have a student who had so much passion for a subject most others dreaded more than detention. "Who would like to do the next equation?" she asks.

Maura looks around to see if anyone else wants a chance, not wanting to appear over-eager. Silence.

"Anyone else besides Maura and Suzie?" she tries again just as Maura puts her hand up again. Spying the wild mane of her most unmotivated student, the teacher quickly says, "Rizzoli, you're up."

Jane stops mid-chuckle at something stupid to find the class all looking at her. Did she just get called out for talking in class, or to do a Math problem? Then she notices Maura put her hand down and decides to deflect. "C'mon, Ma'am. Give the girl a chance."

The class laugh at her sarcasm, knowing very well that the new nerd has been practically teaching the class. They obviously don't share the same love for learning that she does, but more than anything, Maura does not appreciate being the butt of someone's joke. So she retaliates, as politely as an Isles would do.

"Permission to address my fellow classmate?" she asks Ms. Frisby with her back ramrod-straight and manicured hand up in the air… like she just don't care.

Students usually just said whatever they wanted to each other whenever they so pleased, so the teacher is shocked into a mute nod.

"I believe it is my place to say that if you don't wish to be a part of this lesson, you should conduct your personal conversations in your own time. The noise you're making is distracting and downright disrespectful to not only the teacher but the rest of us who came hear to learn."

_'Oooh...'_ go the class, being the instigators they are.

Looking around at the expectant faces of her classmates, Jane puts her own hand up in a mockery of what the other girl just did. Smirking cockily, she asks, "Permission to address my dear classmate here?"

Ms. Frisby rolls her eyes and sits down at her desk in case this is a long one.

"Look, I don't know what you're complaining about because you seem to know everything already. Maybe _you're_ the one keeping everyone else from learning something. I mean, teacher's pet much?"

"_Oooh-hoh-hoh…" _go the class.

"Permission?" says Maura, but doesn't wait for it this time. "I am only engaging with the learning process. I am not hindering anyone else from doing the same. And it is scientifically impossible for any one person to posses all knowledge of all worldly things. There wouldn't be enough time to-"

"Permission?" Jane rudely interrupts, "See what I mean?"

"I don't believe I do see your point."

At this point their hands stay up and the class look back and forth like a ping-pong match.

"Well maybe you should ask Louis Vuitton for better glasses."

"My vision is just fine, thank you. You're only just trying to make fun of me because you've run out of smart things to say."

"Well, excuse me for my ignorance, poindexter. But not all of us are born geniuses with a silver spoon in her mouth."

The bells rings!

But nobody moves.

Maintaining an unblinking death-glare, the two feisty females slowly lower their weapons. I mean hands! Phew.

* * *

_You hit me once, I hit you back_

_You gave a kick, I gave a slap_

_You smashed a plate over my head_

_Then I set fire to our bed_

* * *

Jane is one of the first students to arrive in Pike's class. Before class even starts she puts her hand up and says, "I have a question."

Pike looks up from his desk, looks around the class to confirm that there are still chattering students coming in, and then looks back at his (least) favorite pupil.

"What is it, Rizzoli?"

"Can I swap lab partners?"

At that very moment Maura and Frost walk into the classroom.

When Jane left the Math classroom a minute ago, she was fuming. She isn't even sure what exactly they were arguing about, but something about that girl just unsettled her to her core. She's basically called her stupid twice in two days. And where does she get off going around acting all high and mighty like she owns the school or something? Okay, maybe that's just the anger talking, but who cares?

So Jane got the hell out of her Math class hoping to get as far away from that girl as possible. Unfortunately, as lab partners they'll be closer than ever.

"Oh. I see you two have met then," Pike smiles. Actually, it looks more like a gargoyle impression. "Tell you what, if you can find anyone in this class who would personally volunteer to be lab partners with you, Rizzoli," he chuckles a bit, "then you can swap."

Frost quirks his eyebrow at her. He silently prayed she wouldn't make another scene in the name of pride.

"And make it quick, I'm briefing on projects today."

Listening to the exchange, Maura is both hurt and relieved that Jane would opt to change partners. She can't imagine how difficult it would be to collaborate on anything worthwhile when her partner could care less about schoolwork, and even less about her. Not to mention that she can't seem to stop bullying her. Good riddance, she says.

And plus, in Jane's defense, if Frost is planning on pursuing this girl then there's no way Jane wants to be in the middle of any of that in any capacity.

Unfortunately though, as popular as she is, nobody in their right mind would be caught volunteering to partner up on a Science project with Jane Rizzoli. Ouch.

Pike does that thing with his mouth again, "Going once… going twice…"

Maura is surprised and disappointed at the lack of response. Perhaps Jane isn't nice to anyone.

And another lesson begins.

* * *

_You hit me once, I hit you back_

_You gave a kick, I gave a slap_

_You smashed a plate over my head_

_Then I set fire to our bed_

* * *

Later that same day, Jane decides to ditch lunch with her best friend and his new friend in favor of shooting some hoops at the gym, giving herself a chance to calm down and work on her 3-point shot. After a while, she shoots…

"Janie! Can I borrow you for a minute?"

…and misses.

"Only if you stop calling me that," says the young athlete.

"Would you prefer Cle-?"

"Oh! What is it with everyone?" she mutters as she goes to sit next to her basketball coach on one of the benches. He looks different. "You lose some weight, Korsak?"

"You could say that," he chuckles before lifting his left hand up to show the tan line on his ring finger.

"No way. Another divorce? Isn't that number three or somethin'?"

"Or somethin', yeah. Glad you at least know how to count. Whatcha gonna do about your grades this time, Rizzoli? You're lucky you even made it this year."

"Well, Pike hates me. Whataya gonna do, y'know?" she shrugs.

"He hates everyone. **You** need to make a better effort."

"I am," then she remembers that she got detention from him yesterday after being late to and napping during his class, "uh, well kinda. I'm just getting warmed up."

"Careful," he cautions, "keep slacking and blondes will be making jokes about you. Your mother told me about what happened yesterday." Jane suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. Of course she did. "So we cut a deal." Uh-oh. This can't be pleasant. "It's either you see the school counselor three times a week until you can figure out why you're acting out, or you're getting a tutor."

Option #1 aside, the second option doesn't sound too bad at all... unless he means Pike would do the honors. "Do I get to pick the tutor?"

"No."

"No?"

"Yes."

"Great."

"I swear, Rizzoli, if you're not on your way to College by the time I retire…"

"**You're** the teacher that's retiring, Korsak?"

"I'm afraid so."

They sit in silence for a few seconds. Jane gets to thinking about how life just seems to be happening without her permission. Korsak's like part of the furniture here at Boondocks High, and he's moving on. Why does she feel like she has nowhere else to go from here? Like High School is where it all ends for her. If she doesn't get a scholarship, what is she gonna do?

"What are you gonna do?" she asks him.

"I dunno, maybe look for number four," he jokes sadly.

"What about those 200 cats and dogs sharing your bed?"

"Hey, animals are humans too."

"Alright, Dr. Doolittle. I gotta get to the cafeteria or Ma's gonna bring me my lunch during class."

He laughs at that because it's true.

"Try-outs on Monday, eh?" he says to her retreating form.

"I think I'm a-shoe-in."

"I dunno, Rizzoli, you've let yourself go a bit."

She turns on her heel. "Did not."

"Did too."

She rolls her eyes, then scrunches her face. "We still training with the guys? Cause they suck." Except Frost.

"Trust me, if I could have you playing for both teams, I would."

Jane laughs to herself, thinking if she got a nickel every time she's heard that, she wouldn't need a scholarship.

"No thank you."

* * *

Well into the lunch period during a riveting conversation with a certain new girl, Frost spots his mate getting some food in the cafeteria. He excuses himself and walks up to her.

"How's your date going?" asks Jane, sensing his presence. Truth is, he wears a boat-load of cologne.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy for saying this but-"

"Lemme guess, you're gonna say it anyway?"

"I think you should apologize to Maura."

Hold up. He did not just say that.

"I leave you alone with her for 20 minutes and she brain-washes you?"

"I'm serious."

"I know you are. That's the fucked up part."

"I'm not taking sides here, just hear me out."

"Oh, I think I've heard enough. Now if you don't mind, I'm hungry." She lost her appetite the moment he mentioned that annoying girl, but she really needs some alone time away from that drama, having way better things to worry about.

"Jane, you're being a jerk and you know it. You tease her for being different, but remember when that was you? Huh? Cause it wasn't that long ago. Look, she's at a new school, got no friends and so far everyone's been a pain in the ass jerk to her. And you're the one always complaining about people being carbon copies of each other. Stop being such a hypocrite and taking all **your** shit out on _her_. I know you've got things going on, man, and I sympathize, but you aren't the only one, okay?"

Whoa. Jane hasn't seen Frost this riled up since he caught her making out with an old crush of his. Long story, but it was an accident.

And maybe, just maybe, he's making a little sense too. She's new. She's got no friends. And Jane's a tough taste to acquire in large doses. But most importantly, if her best friend likes this girl **that** much, then Jane is willing to be the bigger person and offer the olive branch, but only because this boy needs him a girlfriend.

"I'm getting sick of saying this, but you're right."

"Believe me, I'm getting sick of hearing it. Could you be right for once?"

* * *

It's been another long day for the Boondocks High population, but that sweet, sweet sound signaling home-time opens the floodgates of complete and utter joy and relief. For others, it signals the time to man up and take one for the team.

Jane's waiting for Maura where she parked her bicycle earlier in the morning. Not expecting to see her lab partner again so soon today, Maura tries to ignore her and goes straight past her to retrieve her ride.

Not before rolling her eyes at the blatant attempt to ignore her, Jane decides to try an ice-breaker. That's how conversations start, right? Remembering back to the day before, she wonders out loud "What happened to your limo?"

Not being able to ignore anyone when they're talking directly to her, Maura says, "Cycling is a much more energy efficient mode of transport and leaves virtually no carbon footprint."

"You don't say," is the sarcastic response. "So you're not just having it spray-painted pink then?"

It's a joke.

"I don't appreciate your tone."

Not a funny one.

"Jeez, girl. It was a joke. I'm just tryna talk to you with all our clothes on!"

Blink. Blink. Uh-oh. Where the Hell did that come from? _Frost, get outta my head_.

"I- I beg your pardon?" What an odd thing to say.

"Shit. Wait that came out wrong. Shit!" Jane decides this whole conversation business is overrated. _Just say sorry and walk away_.

But hoping to conclude this conversation herself, Maura sighs, "I don't see why we should talk to each other about anything other than our upcoming Science project. You are rude and we have very little in common. In fact, we are complete opposites."

Hey now, that wasn't nice. With a bit of a scowl, "Yeah I know they say opposites attract, but this is ridiculous, right?" Jane quips trying to save this banter from going where it always seems to go. South.

"You're not my type anyway," retorts the smaller girl as she starts quickly walking away with her bike.

"Excuse me?" Jane follows her. "And _I'm_ the rude one?" Gloves off. "You're not my type either, okay? I mean, you take things way too seriously."

Maura scoffs. "You treat everything like a joke. You clearly lack discipline or regard for rules and education," and others' feelings, "That alone is so unattractive."

"Well, you look high maintenance," Jane accuses, giving her the up-and-down with an evil eye.

"Would you rather I indulge in _your_ poor grooming habits."

"I'd rather you act like a fucking human being," Maura gasps, "and talk like one! And not like some googlemouth."

"If profane language-" Wait, was that a word? "Googlemouth?"

"Yeah. Googlemouth. I mean, who're you tryin' to impress talking like that? When you start going off I just wanna shut you up so bad." Jane fists her hands as if they were around the other girl's neck. Wishful thinking.

"Bad-ly." Maura mounts her bike.

"Oh! **And** you're a grammar Nazi!"

"Look, you don't like me, and I don't particularly like you myself-"

"Agreed. And just for the record I dislike you more."

"I don't think it would be possible considering how very little I like you."

"Totally possible. Totally happening."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"I don't have time for this, just give me your number."

"Wait- what?"

At this point they have made their way onto the sidewalk just outside of the school and some people may or may not be staring. Maura stops cycling.

"We can discuss the project over the phone. Right now I have no patience for you, and a dinner party to get ready for."

"Ooh... dinner party. I'm crushed I wasn't invited."

For a split second Maura thinks about it, but her annoyance at this human being swiftly kicks that notion to the curb.

"I'm waiting…"

"Fine, fine, fine." Jane figures that's good enough a truce as any and punches her digits into Maura's phone. Then she remembers that her own cellular device is being held hostage. "Say hi to my mother for me. Oh and don't get lost on your way home."

"Oh shut it." And Maura makes her final exit.

"I tried," mumbles Jane on her way to her Ma's car. "Thank **God** it's Friday."

* * *

_My black eye casts no shadow_

_Your red eye sees no blame_

_My slaps don't stick_

_Your kicks don't hit_

_So we remain the same_

* * *

**A/N:** This fun chapter was brought to you courtesy of _'Kiss With A Fist'_ by FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE. Thank you for your time, and if you have any thoughts, questions or BETA-ness, Review or PM me.


	7. Chapter 7: Passive Me, Aggressive You

**7. Passive Me, Aggressive You**

* * *

The weekend went by faster than you can say 'Run, Forrest, Run', thinks a lazy Sun as she hesitantly peek-a-boos through the cracks of dawn to light up the world. She makes a note to thank the Moon for last night...

Back down under, the youngest Isles huffs and fluffs her pillows once again before a few more tosses and turns in her more than comfortable bed; wishing sleep hadn't abandoned her so soon. An innate early bird is hard to reprogram. Now she has to lie awake for another... she looks over at the stagnant alarm clock on her nightstand... another 47 minutes!

"Oh, forget it," mumbles Maura as she peels the covers off her body and slips into her gown and morning shoes.

* * *

Monday came faster than a minute-man, pardon my French. A minute ago, kids were catching up with their friends and making plans to meet up over the weekend, and the next thing you know, your Ma's banging pots with wooden spoons, yelling that you're gonna be late for school, because in _her_ world, alarm clocks are too gentle a wake-up call.

"I'm up! I'm up! Jesus Chri- Ow!"

"What did I tell you about using the Lord's name in vain? Now hurry up or I'm sending Frost along without you. Poor boy's been waiting for you all morning," exaggerated Angela Rizzoli before moving on down the hall.

It's just so great to be in a good mood first thing in the morning, ain't it? Jane Rizzoli wouldn't know.

* * *

_Don't worry_

_About a thing_

_Cause every little thing's_

_Gonna be alright_

* * *

Placing her bowl into the dishwasher, Maura makes her way across the kitchen and into the hallway, accidentally bumping into someone she hasn't seen in some time.

"Oh! Sorry- Father? I didn't know you were in Town."

"I, uh..." the startled College professor immediately lets go of his half-tied neck-tie, giving his daughter a peck on each cheek and says, "Sweetheart, what are you doing up so late? I mean, early."

"I have school today."

For a moment, Professor Isles stares at his daughter's face searchingly. "School? But, honey, don't you always?" he smiles while hastily fiddling with his cufflinks.

"I'm attending the local High School now, remember?"

"You are?" The look of astonishment on her father's face, though brief, tells Maura just how much confidence he had in the notion materializing. Her face dims a bit and he notices. "I promise I didn't mean anything by it. It's actually quite wonderful. I'm sure you're fitting right in, aren't you?"

Maura just smiles in answer which he takes as a positive response.

"That's my girl," he beams before having a glance at his wristwatch, "Yikes. I'm in an awful rush, but I'll hear all about it tonight at dinner, alright?"

He pats her lightly on the head and picks his briefcase up on the way out.

Maura stares at the closed door for a few moments pondering what she should do next. She'd already gotten dressed and had breakfast, perhaps she'll read the newspaper. She sighs. Yet another boring day is ahead.

Walking past a large window she sees how lovely a day it is outside and decides to take her time riding to school this morning.

* * *

As soon as Jane gets into the car, Frost bursts into laughter.

"Y'know," she says as she pulls the door shut, "I really hate that you're a morning person."

"Thanks, I think."

"So not a compliment."

Nodding to her choice of the 'Monday Survivor' shirt for the day, he asks, "I'm guessing you're not as optimistic about the day as I am?" Jane had a tendency to literally wear her heart on her sleeve without realising it.

"Shut up and drive, Frost."

The boy rolls his eyes as he puts the car into drive, but a rat-tat-tat on the window makes him brake.

It's Angela Rizzoli.

"Do you kids mind bringing Frankie along? It's just I'm taking Tommy to the clinic today-"

"I think you mean the vet," mumbles Frankie, earning a smack.

"- and I wanna get there as early as possible."

Withholding a chuckle, Frost just replies, "No problem, Mrs. Rizzoli."

"Oh and Janie, here's your phone. The damn thing's been ringing all weekend."

Suspiciously, the girl asks, "Did you answer it?"

"Of course not," says her Ma in a huff. "I just let it go to voice-mail... but I listened to make sure it wasn't important. There's some girl that really needed to talk to you."

"Oh jeez, Ma." Mortification.

"You should call her back."

"Thanks, Ma." Sarcasm.

"Is she your girlfr-"

"Well, look at the time!" shouts Jane prompting Frost to step on the gas and haul ass. A few moments later, both Frost and Frankie open their mouths to say something but- "Not one word," she warns, "From either of you."

Not one word is spoken for the rest of the ride, but many.

* * *

_Rise up this morning_

_Smile with the rising Sun_

_Three little birds_

_Sit by my doorstep_

_Singin sweet songs_

_Of melodies pure and true_

_Sayin, 'This is my message to you-oo-oo'_

* * *

Rolling into school after a pleasant bike ride, Maura's disposition is quite noticeably better. She dismounts her pink pushbike to secure it around a nearby rail when she notices a familiar automobile park a few feet in front her. She stands up fully, excited to see a familiar friendly face. Her hand goes up to wave at Barry who looks to be in a very animated conversation.

Inside the car, Frost cuts the engine to make a very important point, "...and **that** is why Mr. T pities the fool."

Frankie erupts with amusement, "No way, José."

Shaking her head, Jane wonders how they went from talking about who might have called her all weekend, to all the better things someone could do rather than call Jane Rizzoli all weekend, to the y(aw)n(some) things Frost got up to in the absence of his grounded best friend, and finally to the made-up back stories behind famous catch phrases. Boys sure can talk. A lot.

Then she notices Maura staring at them, which prompts the other two to look in the same direction. Frost immediately smiles and puts his hand up to wave at his new friend, but with all three pairs of eyes suddenly on her, Maura shyly puts her own down and walks on into the school building.

Furrowing his brows, Frost wonders out loud, "What..." then he rolls his eyes and head to face Jane. "What did you say to her?" he asks as if trying to protract his patience.

"Me?" Jane points to herself. "In case you didn't notice, I'm still in the car."

"You know what I mean. Did you apologize to her like I asked you to?"

"I, uh... well, what had happened..."

"Wait," interjects Frankie, "is that the girl you were fighting with in Ms. Frisby's class?"

Both seniors turn to face the sophomore. "How the Hell do you know about that?"

With a shoulder shrug, "I overheard some older guys talking about it on Friday. Apparently it was one Hell of a catfight."

Jane narrows her eyes at her young brother and clarifies that a disagreement between two young women isn't necessarily a catfight and anyone who automatically jumps to that conclusion is a fucking chauvinist. Used to his sister's feminist rants, Frankie only nods slowly expecting her to elaborate on what exactly happened, but Frost is more concerned about what should have been an apology.

"What did you say to her, Jane?"

"Look, I tried to apologize, but then she got all..."

"Jane..." he groans knowing she was making excuses, "One word. That's all I asked you to say. One word – sorry. You didn't even have to stick around after that, but you decide to go and offend her instead."

The smitten kitten opens the door and gets out, an action mirrored by both his passengers.

"Her?" asks Jane, "She started it, if you really wanna know."

Frost rolls his eyes at her, knowing there's no way that's possible, and says, "Whatever, man," before walking off to catch up with Maura.

Wondering if Frost is genuinely pissed at her or not, Jane is taken out of her own musings when her brother pats her on the shoulder with the first piece of advice he's ever given her, "Maybe you should go after him."

* * *

"Hey Maura, wait up."

The honey blonde girl turns around with a confused look before morphing into a dazzling smile.

"Barry, hi."

"Hey." He answers a little breathlessly, not sure whether that's from the little jog he just had or the total knock-out standing in front of him. "You in a hurry or something?"

"Not particularly, why?"

"It's just; you seemed to be in a rush to get... away."

"Oh, I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression, I just thought you were busy with your friends."

"Nah, we were just foolin' around. I wouldn't have minded if you came over to say hi."

Smiling at his open invitation, she says, "I'll remember that." They make their way to their lockers through the crowded hall, making small talk.

"So, what classes do you have to day?"

Jane stops in her tracks watching as the two "love-birds" share a smile and figures she can talk to Frost later. A small part of her can't help but imagine what if this girl causes massive problems for her friendship with the lover boy. She hopes it never comes to that... but boy, that's a story for another day.

* * *

_Don't worry_

_About a thing_

_Cause every little thing's_

_Gonna be alright_

* * *

The day drags on, as Mondays tend to do, but luckily, for the most part, without a single altercation between the two bull-headed schoolgirls. They actually behave themselves during the only lesson they share for the day, even though some tension may be simmering beneath the surface.

Maura minds her own business at the front row while Jane keeps her mouth shut at the back of the room. When called upon to answer questions, each keep their answers brief and get back to their own thoughts.

Having expected them to pick up where they left off, the rest of the class read it as a silent on-going feud stewing in their minds, but really, the girls have less petty things to worry about.

Like Jane, for example, is wondering who she could get to tutor her. Obviously it has to be someone really nerdy, but at the same time someone who isn't going to treat her like a 5-year old, isn't irrationally afraid of her, but most importantly, has no weird intentions with her. Suzie Chang was at the top of her list of choices, right up until Jane remembered that little incident a year or two back... so that's a big no-no. And asking Dr. Prick to recommend someone to her is in the snowball-Hell-category. But who else is there? Looking out the window, Jane absent-mindedly gnaws on an annoying hangnail, staring off into space...

On the other hand, Maura's thoughts are occupied with, for once, the less academic aspect of school; how better school would be if she had people to spend the gaps between classes with. Frost, for example, is a total gem. He's so sweet, but as clueless as she is about most things, the way he looks at her points directly to all the visible physical signs of attraction she's read about in many medical journals, and, unfortunately for him, all she wants right now is companionship. If only she had more people to hang out with. How do other people do it? Making friends isn't something she knows how to set out to do. It's not like people just flock to her in the hopes of hanging out with her. Twirling the end of her ponytail around her index finger, she stares off into inner-space...

* * *

The bell rings for lunch and everyone heads straight for the cafeteria to sample some more of that goodness from the new resident lunch-lady. What a God-send.

"So, Maura, you wanna have lunch with me again?" asks Frost as he catches up to the four-eyed fashionista. Though understated, her outfit of the day is definitely to impress. Frost thoroughly enjoys the view.

"That's a very tempting offer, Barry, but I've been meaning to go to the library. Research..." she tapers off, not wanting to risk getting hives. True as it may be, Maura didn't really need to use the school's library when she had her own at home. Her real reason for turning him down is to avoid his friend, Jane. Her lab partner, Jane. The most infuriating person in the world, Jane, and the library is sure to repel her kind. Or at least Maura hoped so.

"Oh, yeah, the projects..." he deflates a little. "Shouldn't you be doing that with Jane?"

At a loss for words, Maura stumbles, "Uh, I, we... I couldn't get a hold of her."

"Right..." Frost isn't a dense boy by any standards, and the way Maura was acting just confirmed something to him. "Look, I don't know what happened between you and Jane after school last Friday, but please don't blow me off because of her. She'll probably come around eventually, but I'm a nice guy, promise."

There he goes again being as sweet as diabetic blood. Maura sighs into a fond smile. "You don't need to apologize for her behaviour, that's between she and I. And I assure you, Barry, my impression of Jane has nothing to do with whether or not I choose to associate with you. I just prefer to get a head-start on tasks as soon as possible."

Frost nods his head in understanding and sighs into a relieved smile. "Good. See you around then?"

"It's inevitable," she replies as she watches him walk backwards towards the cafeteria.

"I sure hope so." He winks and turns to disappear in the crowd.

Maura lets out a breath she had been holding in a little longer than recommended. _At least he isn't as aggressive or overly-persistent as some boys like to be_, she muses as she finds her way around the school to the library. It isn't hard to find, but Maura makes a few stops at a few other facilities to familiarize herself with the building. This makes her feel a lot more comfortable, being the worst-case-scenario forward-thinking girl she is. By the time she reaches her destination, she doesn't even look up from the map as if this wasn't her first rodeo. She only stops when a shelf of books bumps into her, causing one to drop unceremoniously on her head.

"Ow!" she squeaks, to which the librarian at the front desk answers, "Shh!"

"Sorry," mouths the student, picking the book up off the floor and replacing where it must have been before. Noticing she's in the science fiction section, she lets her fingers do the walking, browsing titles. Her father stocks most of the selections of books in their private library, which includes mostly books on the human body, scientific experiments and the autobiographies of famous scientists. The art books obviously come from her mother, but Maura has read almost page in that room so she hasn't gotten as much experience with any non-fiction literary works. It never really interested her before, but she suddenly felt curious.

Thumbing through one of the more riveting novels, something else catches her curiosity.

"I know, right? Stalker much?" says a hushed feminine voice, although clearly giddy.

"Gosh, Rachel, you're totally crushing on her, aren't you?" replies a second less hushed voice.

"I wouldn't kick her out of bed, that's for sure."

"I don't blame you, girl. I mean, look at her. I'd definitely play for her team," says the other female voice, before they both giggle.

The voices seem to be coming from the other side of the bookcase Maura is busy browsing. Not looking away from Page 15 of the book in her hands, her ears perk a little. Normally she wouldn't eavesdrop, it's impolite, but she's still browsing and may change her mind about this book, so she may as well stay put. _Now, focus, Maura. Page 15_...

"Y'know, I kinda heard something about her..."

_What page was that again...?_

"Well, don't leave me hanging."

"Well..."

"Rachel..."

_Rachel! I mean, page 16... 15._

"Okay, well, I heard... that... she's really... really... I mean, really... good..."

"At wha- oh. Oh..." _Oh? Oh what?_ "Oh wow, where'd you hear that from?"

At this point, Maura hasn't progressed past the first line of Page 15. This conversation is proving rather interesting. Now she's curious who they are talking about, and more importantly, what exactly she is really, really, really good at. _C'mon, Rachel, use your words!_

"Oh my God, I think she's coming over. What do I do?"

"I don't know. Pretend you're reading something."

"Amber, that's so lame."

"What do you think people do in libraries?"

"I'm not here to read, I'm here for _her_, remember?"

And then footsteps.

The other two girls shuffle around on the other side, but the distinct, measured sound of heavy footsteps echoes in Maura's ears like her own heartbeat. As the steps get closer and closer, she starts to panic suddenly feeling as if she may get caught in her voyeurism.

And then silence.

Hearing the steps change direction further away from her, she's almost relieved until two girls pop out from behind the bookcase, startling her. Managing to not scream this time, Maura clutches her chest, feeling the rapid thud of her heart, but the two walk right past her.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," whispers the brunette to the blonde who encourages her friend with a wink.

Maura isn't sure what has come over her when she slowly makes her way to get a better view of what is about to transpire. She feels like she's viewing one of her favourite National Geographic specials, but with teenage human mating habits as the theme and the high school library as the setting. Reality TV doesn't get realer than this.

Getting into position, she sees the brunette, most likely the Rachel of the two, seductively walking toward a nearby table, and at the length of her skirt, not much is left to the imagination. Though she tries to strain to see who is sitting there, Rachel blocks Maura's view of the mysterious girl in question.

"Hey, stranger," greets Rachel, perching herself on the table most likely to make sure her legs are on full display.

Then a surprisingly familiar voice says, "Hey."

_That voice... where do I know that voice from?_ Maura listens on.

"I never took you for a science kinda girl."

"I'm not," comes the short reply, but it provokes a small chuckle in response.

"Yeah, me neither. So lame, right?"

Leaning back in her chair to look up at the flirting female, Jane Rizzoli finally appears before Maura's very own eyes. Surprise!

"Was there something you wanted?" she asks nonchalantly apparently unaffected by the display in front of her.

"Actually, I think I might have something you want." Rachel crosses her legs causing her skirt to ride a little higher, but Jane doesn't even blink or look away from the girl's eyes.

"Pray tell," she says sarcastically, if only to humor her.

Reading the answer as eagerness, "Well, I kinda heard that you were in the market for a new lab partner."

"You did, huh?"

"Yeah, so I was thinking what a bummer it is that we don't take the same classes, cause," she leans closer, "I'd love to conduct some _experiments_ with you."

Ah. That. Jane knows her type very well.

Looking back at her textbook, Jane nods slowly to herself, idly turning a page back and forth in her hand as she says, "I see."

From her vantage point, Maura can't quite read her expression, but her next words surprise her.

"Listen, uh, Michelle-"

"Rachel."

"Right, Rachel. How about I think about it, while you think about what you're gonna do about Joey Grant."

Rachel leans back from Jane's personal space with a guilty expression on her face.

"Yeah, I thought so." Jane goes back to her books.

Of course everyone knew which jocks dated which cheerleaders, but Rachel wasn't counting on Jane being bothered with that type of stuff, let alone caring about home wrecking. She just wanted to have a little fun, try something new, y'know? She's never been with a girl and who better than Jane Rizzoli, the most popular gay person in school.

In a last ditch effort, the persistent girl leans back in and whispers, "He doesn't have to know."

As if someone just challenged her to a game she wrote the rules to, Jane just smirks before firmly grabbing the back of the girl's neck, pulling her ear close to her own lips. "The day I lay my hands on you, babe you're gonna feel so good, no other thoughts are gonna be able cross that pretty little mind of yours for weeks. The things I could do to you..."

Rachel shivers as a jolt shoots right through her body. Jane's voice alone is just so intoxicating. And to be so close, feeling her breath on her skin. The girl may just pass out.

"Trust me, he'll know." Jane leans away once more. "But try again in three months."

This time Rachel stammers to her feet and walks away with her tail between her legs, or it could be the instant evidence of arousal from that brief encounter.

Maura ducks away from view before anyone can spot her, but her breath suddenly needs calming. What a scene. She isn't sure what to make of it, honestly.

* * *

_Singin don't worry_

_About a thing_

_Cause every little thing's_

_Gonna be alright_

* * *

During the next lunch break, although it's shorter, Maura decides she may have to actually do some research this time. She hasn't seen Frost since his earlier invitation, and her body is starting to show signs of remorse for having lied to him. Maybe if she fulfills her own prophecy, she can calm down a smidge.

The library is as bare as before, but this time there's no sign of her lab partner. A part of her is relieved at that, but only a part.

Finding the Non-Fiction books she needs for the project, Maura starts pulling them out of their bookcases until one of them refuses to budge. She tries again, but this time it moves forward instead of toward her. The book goes back and forth a few times until, with both hands this time, Maura uses her entire body to snatch the book out of its resting place. She goes stumbling backwards into the rear shelving... but book in hand. Triumph.

An eye peeps through the vacant space left by the book. "We've gotta stop meeting like this..."

That voice. "Oh, you," Maura says gathering the other two volumes she needs from the floor. Walking towards the seating area, she's cut off by the raven-haired girl of her nightmares.

"I kinda need that book," says Jane impatiently. Rudely, in fact.

"Well then, by all means you should have it... after I'm done with it."

Jane opens her mouth to say something smart, but then she sees the SILENCE sign and thinks about Frost and keeps her trap unflapped. It takes every ounce of her being to hold back, but she bites on her fist and screams into it, then walks away.

Maura is more shocked by the lack of verbal response than the fist-in-mouth thing that just happened. She wasn't trying to provoke Jane into doing anything, but she wasn't expecting that at all either.

Paired with the earlier voyeuristic encounter she's had, Maura really has no clue what to make of this girl. How could she go from being cool and disinterested to seductive and then infuriating all in the same day? Who is this Jane Rizzoli?

Maura finds herself pondering exactly that as they sit on either end of a long study table. Every now and then she subtly glances up to find her lab partner looking a little frustrated and confused. Judging by the mess of papers and texts open in front of her, she must be studying for something. A test perhaps.

"You're not as subtle as you think."

Maura turns to find a girl wearing glasses suddenly sitting beside her. "Pardon?"

"You're checking her out, aren't you?"

"What? No, I was just-"

"Don't worry. I won't tattle. I'm sure more than half the school has done it," the girl smiles good-naturedly.

"If you must know, I just wondered if she was studying for some sort of test, because I haven't been informed of any."

"Oh, that. Well, Pike likes to do a lot of Pop Quizzes."

"Pop Quizzes?"

"Y'know, a surprise test, sort of. He's been known to do one even in the first week of school."

"Oh. That's good to know."

"Yeah, but I'm sure you wouldn't have to worry about that, huh, genius? I'm Suzie Chang, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Suzie Chang. I believe we're in the same Math class."

"Yeah. We're pretty much the only people who know what they're doing. Anyway, I better get going. See you around. And, uh," she tilts her head toward Jane, "careful with that one." Suzie winks.

And just as she came, she leaves.

That was odd, thinks Maura. Feeling a little bad about hogging all the books now, especially after **assuming **Jane is some sort of slacker who didn't care about anything school-related, Maura goes over to Jane and places the book on her side of the study table. Jane looks up.

"Wow, _you're_ a fast reader."

"You looked to be struggling a bit, so I thought you needed the book more."

"Right, cause I need all the help I can get, right?"

Maura isn't sure what Jane means by that, but her tone is far from grateful. Rolling her eyes, she turns to walk away.

"Thanks," says a voice over her shoulder, but when Maura turns back around, Jane's back to the books.

"You didn't return any of my calls."

Jane looks back up and sits back.

"That was you? Oops."

Maura sighs.

"Whenever you're ready to get started on our assignment, I'll gladly welcome your input. Since we're both going to be graded on our final product and receive identical marks, it only seems fair that we divide the research work as evenly as possible and be on our way."

"50/50, huh? You'll make a great ex-wife one day." Not getting a smile or anything, Jane amends, "Relax, we've got three weeks to do it. Thy shall be done."

Shaking her head at the notion that three weeks was plenty of time to complete a project to her high standards, Maura just walks away not wanting to risk getting kicked out of the library for causing a ruckus.

She's barely surviving this Monday as it is.

* * *

_Don't worry_

_About a thing_

_Cause every little thing's_

_Gonna be alright_

_This is my message to you-oo-oo._

* * *

**A/N:** I think I know what's happening here now. What do **you** think? Thanks for reading this BOB MARLEY sound tracked chapter. Dunno what came over me, really. I guess I liked the juxtaposition between the care-free lyrics and the weirdness going on. That's your cue to Review.


	8. Chapter 8: Use Somebody

**8. Use Somebody**

* * *

"Okay everyone, that's a wrap!"

A collective cheer of relief erupts inside the Boondocks High School gym as the Coach blows the whistle on basketball tryouts.

Walking over to the best damn thing to ever happen to BHS basketball, Korsak beams with more pride than he's used to.

Indulging in a few more hi-fives from team-mates and, lastly, Frost (meaning she's forgiven), Jane pulls up the edge of her training t-shirt to wipe her face. This inadvertently elicits a few cat calls and whistles from both boys and girls, but she just shakes her head and laughs it off.

"Jane Rizzoli, is that you?" asks Coach Korsak as he stops in front of her, shock still evident on his face. "I know you're good, kiddo, but that was amazing."

"See? Told you I wasn't out of shape," replies the sweaty girl as the burn in her lungs quickly subsides.

"You certainly proved _that_ and then some. Your 3-point shot is a lot better too, but your control in the air is phenomenal. I dare say you're gonna be tough to defend if you keep this up. I feel like I'm looking at a totally different person right now."

"I haven't been taking any steroids if that's what you're thinking," she jokes in a good mood for the first time in a while.

"I wasn't, but good to know. You been working on your game during the holidays?"

She coughs into her fist, "Uh, you could say that. I've been… keepin' busy."

Not hearing Frost's exaggerated scoff as he heads for the showers, Korsak just laughs at what looks like an attempt at modesty, patting her on the back. "Now, if your grades improve as much as your game, the scouts will be fighting over you like the last buffalo wing at a buffet," he says before she ducks into the locker-room to change.

That theory is tested a few days later when, at the top of the Chem class hour, Dr. Pike announces, "Sit down, pens out and mouths shut. Pop Quiz."

The class groans in answer while doing as they're told. All except Rizzoli and Isles. The latter studies for fun anyway. The former has been testing out the notion that maybe she doesn't really need a tutor. Jane's been in and out of the library for the better part of the week, cramming the few things they've done so far and a bit of revision from the previous year (even though it was the first time she'd ever even read of those things). To say the least, Jane is feeling pretty confident that she won't fail. Too badly. Fingers crossed.

"Are you kidding me? A D-plus?" exclaims the temperamental American-Italian the next day as she looms menacingly over the teacher's desk after their graded tests are handed back.

"Is there a problem?"

"Hell yeah, there's a problem. You must have made a mistake with my grade."

Taking the paper shoved in his face, he patiently reads through it before correcting something with his red pen and handing the paper back.

"You're right; I must have been feeling rather... generous when I was marking. I'm sure you'll find your new mark more fitting with your capabilities."

"D-minus? Is this a joke? Pike, you have no idea what I'm capable of," she growls through gritted teeth, "and so help me God if you don't-"

"Jane, c'mon," says her trusty side-kick as he pulls her by her bicep out of the classroom and as far down the hallway as she'll go before yanking her arm out of his grasp. She kicks a locker and walks madly in a circle before sliding down the opposite set of lockers, sitting down.

Frost waits patiently. He has no idea what's going through his partner's head right now. He's obviously well-acquainted with her temper, well enough to know where that little rant at Pike was headed (to the streets with brass knuckles and no mercy), but it all just seemed out of the blue to him.

Once she calms down considerably, he goes over and sits by her, silently. He looks over at the paper in her hands and offers his hand. Shaking her head in anger, Jane hands it over with a sigh.

After reading the paper over, Frost's face furrows in confusion. "D-minus?"

"Yeah, exactly what _I_ thought."

"Jane, you're lucky you didn't get a _G_-minus."

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she says, "Now's not the time."

"I'm serious. All these answers are incomplete and some of them don't even make any sense."

Jane turns to look at him to read whether he's serious or just has bad timing with the joking around. He's looks sincere. Dammit.

"Were you even in class when we did all this?" he continues.

"I fucking studied my ass off for this, man. You have no idea."

"Is _that_ what you've been doing all week during lunch?"

"Yeah. Figured I might as well, just in case."

"I dunno what to say to you, man," says the boy with a head-shake. He really doesn't. He feels bad for her and all, but wonders what the hell kinda studying she's been doing. "But we should probably get back inside."

* * *

Jane pops another French fry into her mouth. Absent-mindedly, she chews with her mouth slightly open. Then she swallows and does it all over again.

"Okay, stop it," complains Frost, "You're making me lose my appetite here."

Already bored with the mindless chewing anyway, Jane just flops backward against the back of her chair, crosses her left ankle over her right knee and intertwines her fingers behind her head. She doesn't have much of an appetite herself, apparently.

"Mind if I join you for lunch?"

Frost was getting a little worried there, but finally, the girl has taken him up on his invitation! He cracks open one big can of pearly whites. "Maura, hey."

Having already gotten the greetings out of the way when they 'bumped' into each other this morning, Maura just smiles and sits down on the chair he pulls out next to him. An old-fashioned gentleman. She likes that about him.

Maura pushes herself in after setting her own tray of carefully picked rabbit food on the table. Choosing to be polite in spite of their history, Maura addresses Jane.

"Hi."

Frost's smile falters a little as he looks from Maura to Jane, wondering how she'll respond to the simple salutation. It's been a while since he's seen them even acknowledge each other, exactly a week in fact. Even though they shared some classes, and even sat next to each other, they only ever spoke with their eyes in this weird and intense telepathic way.

If looks could kill, the Boston Police Department would have a double-homicide on their hands.

Having watched the girl settle herself beside the boy, Jane knows she now has to be civil, even if it had meant she was the first to speak. Frost is counting on her not to be a jerk, and it wouldn't kill her, now would it, to be nice to the girl? Not a rhetorical question. Seriously, would it?

"Hey," she answers simply enough.

The ground doesn't open up, nor does lighting strike her. Maura said Hi and Jane said Hey. And that's that.

Still darting between the two as they continue to stare at each other, doing that eye thing again, the boy in-between (the _bib_) says, "So..." catching Maura's attention.

"Yes?"

Not sure where he was going with that, Frost fumbles, "Uh, you look really nice today."

"Oh. Thank you, Barry," replies the honey-brunette, laying a dainty hand on her chest, "That's very nice of you to say. And you have very good teeth."

Jane snorts into a chuckle but covers by turning to look at something off to her side.

"Thanks, I think," says the toothpaste poster child, taking the compliment as graciously as he can.

Knowing it's probably a strange thing to bring up out of the blue (though it isn't out of the blue to her since they are in a cafeteria during lunch where teeth are being used as they speak) Maura clarifies her choice of words, "I only mention it because I read quite an interesting article this morning in the Medical journal my father subscribes to, about Forensic Dentistry and the- Suzie Chang?"

"The-the what-now?" Frost stumbles, confused.

She's on her way to her friends when she turns around at the sound of her name, and noticing Maura's choice of company, the resident A-student replies, "Oh, hey. Almost didn't recognize you there without a book."

"I don't-"

"It's a joke, relax," smiles the Chang figuring Maura's one of those literal types.

Maura just smiles back, though not fully understanding. "I was about to tell Barry about an article I read this morning on Forensic Odontology."

"Teeth and their Secrets? Yeah, I read that too. Only on my iPad. It makes you wonder what the future of forensics is gonna look like when the oldest tricks in the book are still pretty accurate, doesn't it?"

"My sentiments exactly!" beams the genius at her kindred spirit. "Would you like to join us? That is if you're not in too much of a hurry… and if that's okay with you," Maura says looking at Barry questioningly.

Frost looks at Jane uncomfortably. Jane shrugs her shoulders. Then Barry looks back at Maura with a forced smile.

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks," says Suzie Chang. "Jane," she nods towards the quiet tomboy before grabbing a seat next to her.

"Sup."

And so begins the first most awkward lunch of the year, unfortunately the first of many. Jane can't leave because Frost would never forgive her for leaving him alone with Chang, and Frost can't leave because he wants to stay in Maura's good graces, but Suzie doesn't seem to be in a hurry to stop talking to Maura because, for once, she finally has somebody to have an intelligent conversation about this stuff with. Maura is oblivious to everything going on around her except the current conversation. Some genius, huh?

The conversation goes back-and-forth from geek-to-geek for a few minutes while the other two just basically listen patiently. After thinking herself out of ripping her eyebrows off several times, Jane even starts developing an interest in the stuff they were discussing, imagining how cool it would be to see this forensic stuff live in action.

"Sometimes the simplest things can help in the biggest ways. Not all ancient techniques are obsolete," nods Maura to herself before wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Smiling to herself, Suzie quips, "Yeah, the missionary's still going strong..."

Despite themselves, Frost and Jane look at each other and chuckle at the unexpected comment.

"Amen to that…" Frost jokes with a faux-spiritual awakening, glancing over at his friend again. Finally, a way to get back in the conversation.

In a moment of faux-realisation, Jane adds, "No wonder they keep repeating 'Oh my God!'"

Frost laughs even harder, along with Suzie and Jane, but the dirty jokes fly right over Maura's head. Noticing this, the initially uninvited guest waves Maura over to lean closer so she can explain the progression from tooth-talk to bedroom-banter. Maura's face goes from curiosity to confusion and then finally to comprehension.

Sitting back, and allowing a genuine smile to creep up on her face, in spite of herself, she says, "Oh I get it now."

Then all four burst out into laughter once more.

Catching a glimpse of the pretty girl beside him with her hand delicately covering her mouth as she giggles a delightful sound, Frost can't help but stare a little.

Eyeing the one-sided exchange, the Chang quirks an eyebrow as her own laughter dies down. Interesting…

This is the first time the jock and the nerd have been in the same place with smiles on their faces.

Maura catches Jane's eye, each considering how odd it feels to be sharing a laugh over a stupid dirty joke when Hell isn't even frozen over yet. And where'd those cute dimples come from?

"Finally! You get a joke," says Jane, "I was starting to think you really _were_ a robot."

Suppressing her instinct to automatically take everything Jane Rizzoli says as an insult, Maura rolls her eyes instead.

"I dunno. She might have to be one to get a perfect score on one of Pike's Pop Quizzes," Suzie teases with a smile to let the girl know she's only joking again.

Jane's face drops at the subject change. Maura notices.

Frost lets out a whistle. "I am impressed."

Choosing not to comment on her minor achievement, the test was fairly easy after all, Maura has a sip of her Vitamin water. Glancing over at Jane's paper, which she's been carrying around like an old grudge since she got it, Maura asks, "Mind if I take a look?"

"Knock yourself out," answers the D-student, not even caring if the two nerds were meaning to bond some more over how dumb she is. Who cares? Not Jane anymore.

Remembering the commotion from earlier in class, Suzie wonders out loud, "Why is it that you and Frost don't study together anyway?"

"Because there's no such thing," Frost is quick to say, "Every time we get together to study, we end up getting distracted. Every. Single. Time."

"Hey, it's not my fault you're so easily influenced."

"And it's not my fault you're a bad influence."

"But you knew that from the get-go."

"Well, maybe I thought I could rub off on you."

"You also knew there would be no rubbing of any kind from the get-go."

Frost just rolls his eyes.

"I could tutor you if you like," offers Suzie Chang, who has clearly forgotten about the awkwardness from earlier.

Glancing over at Frost and his quirky eyebrows, "Thanks, but I'll manage." Jane declines the innocent offer. Still staring down at her paper, Maura is surprised to hear Jane refuse the offer when in reality she should be seeking it. It could be a pride thing, she ponders.

"Suit yourself," shrugs the Chang before excusing herself to spend the last few minutes of the break with her mathletic mates.

The two long-time best friends watch her leave, share a stare and let out a synchronized sigh of relief.

* * *

Still running off the high from spending lunch with Maura Isles, Barry Frost is oblivious to Jane Rizzoli's mounting angst as the school week draws to a close.

It's one thing to admit that you're not that good at something. It's a totally different story to admit that no matter how hard you work, you're just not good enough. Jane's age didn't stop her from helping out at plumbing jobs with her father as a kid, being a girl didn't stop her from trying out for different sports and kicking the guys' asses, being raised Catholic and getting teased in the beginning didn't stop her from being her true self, so she'll be damned if she lets her own IQ stop her from graduating.

Whenever things didn't go Jane's way or as she expects them to, the first person she blames is herself, and right now she's kicking herself for not taking Suzie Chang up on her offer. So she'll just have to find a way to make her thinky-thing do it's job. Maybe she's just out of practice with the whole studying thing. How the Hell do the nerds do it? I mean, an A, sure. Perfect score? On a Pop Quiz? Put together by Dr. Puke? Her lab partner must be a cyborg. A super-nerd… wait a minute, thinks Jane. _My lab partner's a genius! Like, literally. Maybe she could… nah._

That's not a good idea. Sure, she's a walking textbook, she's not afraid of Jane as evidenced by all their previous encounters, and most importantly, she wouldn't use this as a way of pursuing Jane romantically nor do they have any such history. She is almost the perfect candidate to tutor the All Star athlete, but what are the odds of that happening? They can hardly stand each other. Jane can't imagine herself asking anyone for help, let alone _her_, someone who already thinks she's got a brain the size of a goldfish egg.

As she steps out of school, her phone vibrates in her pocket. She even forgot it was on silent when the vibration causes a startling but pleasant sensation against her skin.

'_Hello, Jane. I understand you had a busy week so I did all the research for our project already. If you still plan on being a part of it, I am putting everything together this weekend. Call me if you are interested. Maura Isles.'_

Speak of the devil who wears Prada. Jane rereads the text and quickly saves the number to her phone book before replacing her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. This must be a sign, right? _Nah, Frost would freak._

A slight force from behind makes her stumble forward before she realises someone has fallen on her. Jane quickly turns around fast enough to catch the girl before she kisses the ground.

"Whoa there, you okay?" she asks, helping her up.

Having shut her eyes to brace herself for the impact, Maura is surprised to hear Jane's voice instead. She cracks an eye open. Speak of the handsome devil she was texting a moment ago. The same one who is practically keeping her upright at the moment with one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and the other on her... Maura's eyes widen at the sensation and she quickly regains her footing as well as her personal space.

Sheepishly, Jane apologizes for accidentally copping a feel of Maura's derrière, "Oops. Reflexes, sorry,"

"It's fine. I'm fine," answers the devil who tripped wearing Prada, embarrassed at her clumsiness and the tell-tale blush creeping down to her naval. She bends down to pick up her homework diary.

"You sure? Cause your legs were jelly a second ago."

"I, uh, shouldn't text while…"

"Walking?" Jane snorts finding the situation a little funny, "Yeah, no wonder you ride a bike."

"I ride a bicycle because I'm too young to drive a car," Maura explains herself, although she really doesn't mind the bike so much.

A thought crosses Jane's mind. "How young are you exactly?"

Feeling a little hesitant about answering that particular question at the moment, Maura thinks about deflecting but that would most likely be a very odd thing to want to keep a secret. And at the sight of the taller girl's questioning face, Maura relents, "I turn 15 next week," she mumbles, walking over to her bicycle.

Jane's jaw hits the ground faster than a flying pig. Dayum. Where was _she_ when she was fourteen?

"You really are a cyborg."

"I am not a robot."

"If you say so. But I doubt you'd tell me if you were."

"No, I suppose not..." Then they just stand there awkwardly. "I suppose I should say thank you... for catching me."

"It was either that, or I fall _for_ you... as in, fall on the ground for you, not as in... the other fall... for you- I got your text."

"Oh good."

"Yeah, it's just that I'm kinda grounded, so I'm not allowed to leave the house... unless..."

"Yes?"

"Unless you... nah, nothing. Nothing."

"Oh. Well, if that's all, I have to-"

"You gotta go to a dinner party, I know." Jane rolls her eyes, briefly wondering if that's just an excuse to get away from her. "Okay, I'll be quick. I just have something to ask you."

Instead of curiosity or surprise, Maura's face turns into that of understanding. As if she knows what's about to be asked of her. She adjusts the straps of her school-bag on her shoulder and nods at Jane to continue.

"Well, I uh," Jane scratches her eyebrow, finding it more difficult than anticipated to get the words out. "I kinda need your… help."

Maura only keeps quiet, deciding whether she's going to say yes or no to the yet unasked question, prompting Jane to continue.

"Okay. You saw my test paper, so you know I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but I suck at Science. I tried studying, I guess I just didn't get it in the first place and ended up fucking up my answers. So, since we're partners and all anyway, I wondered if you wouldn't mind maybe helping me out with that stuff."

Maura's face changes into that of confusion. She was expecting Jane to ask if she could finish the project on her own, but what she just said sounded more like... "You're asking me to tutor you?"

"Begging you," Jane nods.

"Me? But you declined Suzie Chang's offer."

"I've got my reasons for that, but yeah. I'm really desperate here."

"Even though we dislike each other."

"Especially because of that. That's the best part!"

Two elegant eyebrows rise in surprise. "Care to explain why?"

"It's just... easier that way. But if you don't wanna do it…"

Maura goes through the list of every single thing that could possibly go wrong with this suggested arrangement. Multiple cons come to mind, but only one pro – Jane could do better in school. This gets Maura to thinking what exactly would be in this for her. They clearly can barely tolerate each other without adult supervision and have to try really hard to be civil, they have no common interests (including the subject she would be tutoring Jane in), and what if Jane still doesn't do well? All that time would be a waste.

"Look, forget I said anything," says Jane, figuring Maura isn't into the idea at all. Not that she was expecting her to be anyway. Back to the drawing board.

"But I haven't said anything."

"I know, but I can see you're not too keen on spending more time than you have to with a dumb jock who can't tell a DNA strand from a beanstalk to heaven. At least you didn't laugh in my face for even suggesting it."

"Jane, wait."

Jane stops walking and turns around. She hates being in this position, at someone else's mercy. If she could just do everything on her own, she would. Tried that and it blew up in her face with a capital-D. Now she's doing one of the hardest things she's ever had to do because she doesn't want to be a walking stereotype. The big, dumb jock who's gonna spend the rest of her life telling stories about the good old days in high school before she busted her knee and became a bum. Then Jane wonders if she's been watching too many movies lately, because she's feeling a little melodramatic in her head.

"Do you have many friends?" asks Maura, not even looking at Jane.

Scrunching up her face in confusion at the odd change in topic, Jane says, "Uh, you could say that." If facebook and twitter are anything to go by, she is friends with the entire school and several other all-girl establishments, but Jane knows who her real friends are.

"Just how popular are you?"

"Popular? Me? I do alright, I guess. Why?" Of course when you're a 'jock', popularity tends to come with the territory, not to mention that she's incredibly aesthetically pleasing to both the male and female demographics. Jane isn't cocky nor is she modest about her social standing in the high school hierarchy. She's still herself whether someone's looking or not.

"In return for tutoring you, I would appreciate it if you would help me develop a better rapport amongst our classmates."

Jane just stares at her. She's pretty hard to read when she wants to be.

"You want me to make you popular?"

"I know it must sound pathetic, but making friends isn't as easy for me as it is for others. As you can attest."

"But why would you wanna be friends with all these losers?"

"I could very well ask you the same thing."

"No... see, it's different with me. I don't go out of my way to hang out with them. Why would _you_ go out of your way to try and be friends with these losers?"

"Barry is the only person who's been nice to me since I came to this school."

"That-" Jane stops short of a lie, but then thinks of Suzie, "That's not true... is it? Never mind. Okay, deal. If you make me smarter, I'll make you popular."

The answer comes a little quicker than Maura anticipated. _Jane really must be desperate if she's not going to do much negotiating. And how exactly does she plan on holding up her end of the deal?_

"Really?"

"Yeah," answers Jane emphatically, not believing her ears. _I have a tutor. Scouts, here I co_... But wait, how the Hell is she gonna make Maura popular? "When did you say your birthday is again?"

"Next Saturday, why?"

"And where'd you say you lived again?"

"I didn't. Who are you calling?" she asks, watching the basketball player tapping away on her cellphone.

"I'm not making a phone call," answers Jane distractedly, grabbing and flipping through Maura's homework diary for her personal details. "I'm tweeting."

_"Jane Rizzoli AT ILikeHandcuffs_

_Party next Saturday at this address: "Google Maps link" Everyone's invited! #HBDMaura"_

Suddenly Jane's demeanor turns a little serious. She looks around to see if anyone's been eavesdropping and lowers her voice. "But we gotta get something clear, okay?"

"And what's that?"

"This thing between us is strictly confidential. No one must know about this. Not even Frost."

"Barry? Not that I object, but why would you want to keep this from your best friend?"

"Just, trust me, okay? Don't tell anyone."

"I won't, but if anyone asks me directly, I can't lie," she shrugs.

"Well, you're gonna have to."

"Even so, I can't lie."

"Look, you're gonna have to leave morality out of things just this once."

"I don't think you understand," Maura sighs, starting to get a little impatient.

"I don't think **you** understand-"

"I am physically incapable of telling a lie without going vasovagal," Maura blurts.

Back-track.

"Wha-? Eww- what does that even mean? Y'know what, keep it to yourself."

Rolling her eyes, Maura clarifies, "I faint."

"Really?" is the deadpan response, "You couldn't just say that in the first place? Jeez..." Jane's starting to remember why these two hardly talk at all. The Google and the mouth and the Googlemouth. And now this girl has a weird condition that keeps her from lying? "Whataya mean you faint? Like, every single time?"

"The first time I told my mother I did my homework when I hadn't, and I fainted."

"Damn. Okay, uh, fine, if anyone asks just googlemouth. That'll redirect them for sure."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

I think it means that the bickering Bickersons are back.

* * *

_Now it's not, that I hate being here_

_Well I just hate being here with you_

_And today could be a perfect day_

_But instead I'm here with you_

_- Car Guard Tan, DESMOND & THE TUTUS_

* * *

**A/N: **Shout-out to everyone. I feel like the story has only just begun, so viewer, review.


	9. Chapter 9: I Am Not A Robot

**9. I Am Not A Robot**

* * *

A very cheesed off Maura Isles comes bursting through the door. The house staff freeze mid-motion anticipating some sort of outburst from their young employer, as is custom for her mother to do when a bad mood crops up, although they're unused to seeing the habitually polite Maura in such a disposition. This is only the second time in exactly a week.

The cross young woman had hoped to make it to her room unnoticed. Now she realizes a little self-consciously that it may have been possible were it not for such a dramatic entrance. She gently closes the door behind her and apologizes for startling anyone before running upstairs without another word.

"What's gotten into _her_?" asks the newer of the pair of employees after sharing a long look. In her short time working for the Isles family, Maura has always been nice enough to stop and make small talk with them, or at least greet them. Her present demeanor seems odd.

"Another bad day at school maybe," shrugs the other slightly older woman before going back about her business.

"Do you think she's having a hard time?"

With a sigh, the other slightly older woman replies, "I think the poor girl had no idea what she was getting herself into when she started."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… that High School can be tough these days, and I'm not even talking about the schoolwork. Kids pick on you for any little old thing."

Understanding what is meant by that statement, "Poor Maura. Do you think she'll make friends?"

"Well, she hasn't had that much luck in that department, but I sure hope so, for her sake."

Before they have a chance to further gossip, the door swings open again. This time to reveal a mountain of shopping bags on legs walking into the foyer. When he bends down to place the heavier packages on the floor, Jeffrey reveals Mrs. Constance Isles in all her jetlagged glory, delicately removing her designer sunglasses. Jeffrey quickly scrambles to hold the door open for her as she enters.

Constance sighs in relief and anticipation of some rest before addressing the rather short man. "Thank you, Jeffrey. See to it that my things make it to my closet, would you?" she instructs while looking around at her home with narrowed eyes. Scrutinizing.

"Of course, Mrs. Isles," he replies automatically before closing the door behind her and getting right to his next task.

The two ladies trying diligently to avoid eye contact with the lady of the house by feigning polishing a stubborn spot on the wooden staircase are, to their dismay, summoned.

"Greta. Will you make sure Chef Jean-Luc knows we're expecting a few guests tonight for dinner?" It may sound like a question, but it's a command.

Without a word, Greta, the older of the two, retreats to the kitchen to relay the message while Mrs. Isles settles her passive-aggressive gaze on Anne the amateur. The longer she stares, the more furiously Anne polishes that God-forsaken spot and the redder she gets in the face. Finally, feeling out of breath, she says, "Phew! All done. I'll go check on the, uh…" before quickly retreating in the direction of the kitchen as well.

As she disappears down the hall, Constance smirks to herself. _Still got it_.

* * *

On his way back from delivering Mrs. Isles' latest wardrobe additions, Jeffrey walks past young Maura's partly open bedroom door only to catch her undo her French braid rather aggressively (for _her_) while pacing up and down like a coked up catwalk model stuck in a revolving door. Though he doesn't mean to, he eavesdrops on her verbalized internal dialogue.

She growls, "That Jane is Rizzoli is quite something else," she changes direction, shaking her head, "Who does she think she is? … I can't believe I even thought that- Oh goodness, this was a terrible idea…" she turns again, "The worst. I can hardly- let alone- What gives her the right to-? … Ooh, that Jane Rizzoli!"

Having made it to the end of her bed, her last words are muffled when she lets herself fall forward onto her bed, sending wisps of emancipated honey blonde momentarily up into the air as she lands with a soft plop. Then she just lies there.

After several moments, Maura rolls her head to the side and blows a few strands of hair away from her face in one exaggerated exhale. _Poor thing must have exhausted herself from the teeny tiny teenage temper tantrum_, muses Jeffrey.

When Maura eventually scoots up to sit against the headboard and lifts up the book laying on her bedside table, he decides he's seen enough. He silently shuts the door to give the girl some much needed privacy until a few hours later at dinner-time.

Normally, Maura dines alone. As in, without her parents. So she always invites the full-time staff to join her for supper to get to know them better since, for a long time, she barely interacted with anyone else, but also as a reprieve from the incredible loneliness. These are the 'dinner parties' she speaks of when blowing Jane off and they are usually a lot of fun. But tonight is a rare occasion.

A series of knocks on her bedroom door slowly pulls her out of her thoughts and back to the present. She's been rereading the same paragraph in her book for several minutes. "Uh, I'll be down in a minute," she stumbles wondering how long she was spaced out for.

"Ms. Isles? I came to see if you were okay."

Sighing into a soft smile at his genuine concern, "I'm fine, Jeffrey. I'm almost done."

"Your parents are both home," he informs and warns.

A surprised, but not necessarily excited "Oh" is the only response she can muster for lack of enthusiasm. Frankly, she doesn't give a fff… Plus, family dinners aren't as fun. "I'll be right down."

A few moments pass before Jeffrey's disembodied voice finally says, "Alright, Ms. Isles. I'll let them know you're almost done." His footsteps echo from the hallway as he leaves to do so.

On the other side of the door, Maura sighs again in _relief_ this time, ahead of changing into something more 'presentable'. When her parents send for her, they must want to show her off to someone.

Let the show begin.

* * *

"Turn that damn show off!"

"Ma! It's a game, not a show. And we're up by two, I can't-"

"I don't care! We're gonna sit down at the table and have dinner like a normal family. Now, off you go. I swear you're worse than your brothers."

"Wha- they're watching too!" True as that may be, Frankie and Tommy are torn between watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees into a pulp in their own backyard, or food. Nope, they are definitely not about to go against their mother on this one.

"C'mon, Janie. We'll watch the highlights later. I'm hungry," says Frankie as he walks towards the kitchen rubbing his stomach.

"Well, I'm not. So I'm staying right here," mumbles the 'eldest' and most stubborn Rizzoli child, kicking her shoes off to prop her feet on the table. It's been a long day, week, and life.

Angela walks right in-between the table and couch, knocking Jane's feet away, and switches the TV off right at the source.

Whipping around with a stern look, she crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently. Jane crosses her arms too, returning the glare.

They stare… and stare… and stare some more.

_Bzzz… Bzzz… Bzzz…_

Even as Jane's phone buzzes away on the coffee table, she ignores it.

They glare some more.

_Growl_.

A smirk crosses Ma Rizzoli's face. Triumph.

Jane silently curses her damn stomach for ratting her out as she gets up to go shut the damn thing up. Defeat.

After saying Grace, they all look around at the abundance of food on the table.

"Did you rob a soup kitchen on your way home, Ma?" asks Jane as she passes the greens.

"Yeah. It kinda feels like pay day," Frankie smiles dishing up some greens.

"Are you guys seriously complaining right now?" Tommy exclaims through a few spoonfuls of mac 'n cheese as he declines the offered up greens. "This is _Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs_ in real life!"

"Don't be silly. I did not rob anyone, and shut your mouth while you chew. Nobody needs to see all of that."

_Bzzz… Bzzz… Bzzz…_

"No phones at the dinner table, Janie."

Jane quickly reads the text while holding one finger up. She rolls her eyes and chucks the device in her pocket.

"Sorry. So, what's up, Ma?" she asks, waving around the table.

"Well, there were a ton of leftovers at the school today, and Sea- Mr. Cavanaugh said I could take some home with me," shrugs the bread-winner as she starts forking her food.

"We're eating cafeteria leftovers?"

"You guys eat like this at school?! Sweet!"

"It'll either end up going bad or going in the trash anyway. Why waste all this food, huh? Now eat up before it gets cold."

And that's Ma-speak for 'end of discussion'.

Now, they don't really mind having cafeteria leftovers, but Jane and Frankie share a look both wondering if there's more to the story than just not wanting to waste food. Ever since Frank Senior ran out on them not too long ago, things have been a little rough. Maybe even a lot more rough than their mother lets on, but choosing to share a bit of good news for once, Jane swallows and says, "I found a tutor."

Three pairs of eyes turn to look at her though she keeps her eyes on her plate.

"Really? That was quick. Who?" asks Angela.

"Uh, some nerd from school," shrugs the jock.

"Jane! That's no way to speak about someone who will be helping you."

"Sorry. Anyway, we're gonna do some studying tomorrow… At her place." Jane watches for her mother's reaction, wondering if her sentence to being grounded forever applies to everything.

Frankie's ears perk right on up at the mention of Jane's _nerd_ being a _she_, but Angela forgets to even ask any embarrassing questions because she's too proud that her daughter is finally getting the help she's always been too proud to ask for. Maybe she's finally growing up.

"Oh! Do you want a lift? What time should I drive you over? I wanna meet her."

"No way-" Jane is quick to say, "I mean, no _thank you_. My car's nearly fixed up. I'll drive myself."

"Why do you wanna drive yourself? Are you-"

Jane's phone chimes again.

"Who keeps calling you?"

Opting to turn her phone off for once and for all, Jane says, "Frost… y'know how he is. And it's easier if I just drive myself. You just relax this weekend, Ma. It's no big deal."

The overbearing mother rolls her eyes, "I won't embarrass you."

With a quirk of her eyebrow, Jane quips, "17 years of experience says otherwise." The boys choke on their food, laughing. "Thanks, Ma, but I'll manage."

"Alright. Need any gas money?"

"Nah, I'm covered."

"Suit yourself. But that piece of junk your father left behind better not break down."

"She's not a piece of junk, Ma. C'mon."

* * *

It's another warm Saturday morning in the kingdom of Boston when one brave, young girl journeys to the center of the earth to find out how the other half live. It's a trying and treacherous voyage, but her trusty steed does her proud. Reaching her final destination, she cannot help but marvel at the size and beauty of the castle in her path. Holy shit!

Having already been on her way past, Maura hears the doorbell ring and gingerly opens the front door. Only to find the back of a tall figure wildly gesticulating with one hand while the other stays pressed against her ear.

"…you got the pic I just sent you, right?"

Jane. Jane?

"With **me** standing right out front? How can you still not believe me!" Jane turns around to face Maura and says, "Fine, **you** talk to her then. She's right here," and shoves the mobile phone against Maura's ear, and before she knows it, Maura's thrust into the middle of a conversation.

"Uh… y-yes, this is she… Of course, but how do you-? … Oh! Barry, how _are_ you?" Maura doesn't miss Jane's eye-roll but continues on. "I haven't even begun to consider the logistics of such a soirée, but yes, the following Saturday _is_ my birthday … Of course! You're more than welcome, Barry." Another eye-roll, but this time Jane wrestles the phone out of the little socialite's hand before she starts calling him **Barrold**.

"Believe me now?" smirks Jane into the receiver before bidding her best friend good-bye and hanging up. "This," she starts, waving her phone in the air "is what I've been dealing with. My phone's been blowing up since yesterday!"

"Blowing up?" Maura asks, bewildered and still reeling from the fact that Jane Rizzoli is on her doorstep.

"Yeah! I had to turn the damn thing off before Ma got suspicious. She already thinks I'm in some fight club or something."

"Fight club?"

Jane rolls her eyes as if she's been explaining the same thing for ages, "Are you gonna keep parroting me or invite me in, genius?"

Snapping back into the moment, Maura is able to take in Jane's appearance for the first time. Jane does the same and for a few silent moments, both their jaws hang open as they give each other the up-and-down.

"Ahem. And do you _always_ have to look like you just stepped off a runway?" Jane exclaims after clearing her throat and taking her sunglasses off. Maura isn't sure if that is meant as a compliment or an insult.

"What happened to your face?" is her reply.

Shrugging as if the pain in her head doesn't exist, "My brother. We played around before I left," and when she gets a pointed look at the few grease marks on her pants, Jane offers that it's from fixing her car up.

"Relax. I won't touch anything."

Jane takes a step forward, thinking her host will get the point and let her come in, but Maura doesn't budge.

"I thought you were grounded."

"I am, but I told my mother I found a tutor, so she practically kicked me out."

"You told your mother?"

"Of course I did. And what's with the Spanish Inquisition? Jeez."

"I thought this arrangement was to remain confidential."

"Yeah, the 'you' part."

Maura was about to offer to help Jane with her obviously broken nose, before _that_.

"I see," she says a little deflated, turning into the doorway.

"No offense," Jane amends while following Maura inside.

"Yet I'm still offended."

"Cheer up, M. You live in a friggin' mansion."

Turning around to point a finger at her lab partner's chest, Maura's tone is no-nonsense, "That is not my name."

Not even flinching, Jane says, "It's a nick name."

"Pet names are for people who are friends. I would prefer you to call me by my full name."

When Jane just stares at her, Maura gets annoyed. "Maura! My name is Maura."

"I knew that," Jane smirks.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That!"

"It's called sarcasm."

"Using irony to mock or convey contempt?"

_Did she just recite the Oxford Dictionary?_ "How do you do that? Y'know what? Never mind. Let's just go to your room and get this project over with."

"Gladly."

_Later that same day…_

Maura did not think she would be spending the day with anyone, and least of all not Jane, but as they pieced their little assignment together with Maura explaining the whats, hows and whys of it all, they were done in practically no time at all.

The certified genius observed how Jane learns quickly when **doing** rather than just **reading** textual information, which may come in handy once they start with the tutoring. She isn't sure how useful it was to stare at the other girl's physique when she wasn't looking, but surely there must be a good reason for that too. Maura also noticed how, every so often, Jane would wince in pain, but hold in any sound of protest. Maura's starting to feel bad now.

Almost as a karmic reward for their surprising feat of great teamwork, there's a knock on the slightly open door.

"Ms. Isles, would you and your friend like some refreshments?" asks Greta.

"Oh, excuse my manners. Jane, would you like anything?"

"Uh… Got any beer?" is the deadpan request.

"I beg your pardon?"

Jane smiles up, loving the shocked look on the other girl's face.

"C'mon, say it with me. _Ha-ha-ha_. Joke, remember those?" Not getting a response, she rolls her eyes and addresses the older woman, "I'll have whatever she's having," she says getting up, "I'm gonna go get some air."

The taller girl nonchalantly walks over to the other side of the room and pushes the soft curtains aside, before sliding the balcony doors open and shut behind her. When she comes back inside several minutes later, the drinks have already arrived and Maura is on her knees. Petting a rock.

"Whoa."

"Don't be afraid," coos Maura in a gentle, soothing voice as she waves a strawberry in front of _the rock _to try coax him out of his shell.

"I'm not, but I swear your pet rock just moved."

"I was talking to Bass." Maura finally looks up.

"Is that a-"

"Bass is a _Geochelone Sulcata_. An African-spurred tortoise."

"Bass? What, after an old boyfriend?"

"William M. Bass, the forensic anthropologist who founded the famous body farm?"

"Oh, _that_ Bass," is Jane's sarcastic response as she crab-walks as far away from the creature as possible to get a drink. Jane looks at it. It's pink. Yuck. She has a sip. Mm… "Wow! That is good!"

"_Le Veuve Brut__."_

"Is that French for pink lemonade?" Another gulp. "Whoa. Can't get that at a 7-Eleven, can you? Man! How much?"

"How much? I don't know."

"Guess!"

"No!"

"A hundred bucks?"

"Maybe. I don't –"

"A hundred bucks a bottle? Wow." Jane pours herself another glass as she flops onto Maura's bed.

"A glass."

"Really?! God, no wonder it's so good."

When she puts her empty glass back down, Jane spies the web page currently occupying Maura's laptop browser.

"Ah, shoe fetish?"

Finally giving up on her attempts to get her shy pet to come out of his shell, Maura stands up and walks over to sit on the other side of her portable computer.

"Not quite. I'm looking for shoes to wear next week."

"4 inch heels?! What, are you installing ceiling fans?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in anything less."

"Speaking of which, what's with the dead people music? I'm falling asleep here."

"Classical music has been known to stimulate-"

"Nope. No-no-no. No more googlemouth, please." Jane stands up and plugs her phone into the docking station.

Maura doesn't protest because she's curious what Jane will play. And even more surprising is the choice of music.

_You've been acting awful tough lately  
Smoking a lot of cigarettes lately  
But inside, you're just a little baby  
_

_It's okay to say you've got a weak spot  
You don't always have to be on top  
Better to be hated than loved, loved, love for what you're not  
_

"What, did you expect some heavy metal or something?"

"I wasn't expecting anything, but this is rather surprising."

"Why?"

"To be fair, I hardly know you, so anything you do is likely to surprise me."

"I don't get you."

"Get me?"

"Yeah, understand you."

"That's okay. Not many people do. And for the record, the feeling is mutual. You're… deceptively complex."

_You're vulnerable, you're vulnerable  
You are not a robot  
You're lovable, so lovable  
But you're just troubled_

_Guess what? I'm not a robot, a robot_

"What are you looking at?"

Jane didn't realise she was doing it, but she had started to slowly dance to the music.

"I can reset your nose for you."

"Really? And you only tell me now?"

"I wasn't exactly in the best of moods earlier."

"Fine, just do it already."

"This may hurt a little."

"No more than it does right now."

Jane turns to face Maura and leans into her, closing her eyes. The close proximity momentarily causes Maura to falter, but then she puts her hands on Jane's face. Jane's skin is cool and smooth. Her breath smells like pink lemonade and something else as it tickles the edge of Maura's top lip and she can't help but lick her own.

"What's taking so lon- Ow! Motherfff..."

Before she knows it, Maura sets her nose straight without any preamble, having been startled by Jane's voice.

"Sorry. I-"

"Jesus Christ, Maura! A little? A little warning would have been great, thanks."

"I did warn you it may hurt."

Breathing in a few puffs of air as she blinks away the tears from her eyes, the pain in Jane's nose suddenly drops to a dull throbbing sensation. A minute or so later, Jane says, "I think it worked."

"I'll go get you some ice."

"Nah, I'm good. I should get going soon anyway."

"Oh. But- I've been thinking about, my birthday-"

"Don't worry about it, people will show up. You're basically living in the Playboy mansion. You'll be popular literally overnight."

"Y'know, Jane, money is what I have, not who I am."

"What's your point?"

"I just feel like you have some preconceived notions about me based on my appearance and affluence."

_You've been hanging with the unloved kids  
Who you never really liked and you never trusted  
But you are so magnetic, you pick up all the pins  
_

"You're right, I do."

"I don't understand why."

"I think I'm gonna go now," Jane says shutting the music off completely.

Conversation closed.

Maura is a little peeved at being shut down, because it's rude, but without looking up she asks, "I don't suppose you'll be there?"

"Where?"

"At my party?"

Jane looks up. Thinks. "Have you ever thrown a house party before?"

"No."

"Ever been to one."

"I can't say I have."

Sigh. "I'll help you set up. But that's it."

"Okay."

When Jane leaves, Maura feels a little weird having had someone to spend most of the day with, even though most of the time was spent doing a project. And did Jane just say her name for the first time today?

A familiar loneliness settles back onto her when she sadly watches through her window as the other girl drives away.

* * *

_Can you teach me how to feel real?  
Can you turn my power off?  
And let the drum beat drop_

Guess what? I'm not a robot

* * *

**A/N:** MARINA & THE DIAMONDS are to blame (or thank) for this. Thanks so much for reading. The party is next.


	10. Hangover Part 1: A Wolf In Geek Clothing

"**Aaargh! Wake the fuck up, you lazy piece of unflushable shit! Rawrrr!" **bellows the phone. Or at least that's what it sounds like in Jane's mosh-pitting head this morning. Hangovers are a** bitch.**

* * *

**10. The Hangover Part 1: **A Wolf In Geek's Clothing

* * *

Imagine your head is a baby elephant. Pretty heavy, am I right? Now imagine the baby elephant is smashing cymbals together over and over and over again. Pretty loud, am I wrong? Then try lifting your baby elephant head off a perfectly comfortable cloud-like pillow to stop the smashing cymbals by answering your phone.

"Shut up, I'm tryna sleep!" exclaims Jane, in her head, but verbally it comes out as a soft murmur resembling, "ShaaMmtawsseeb."

She groans into the pillow, but when the noise stops, she sighs and makes a note to herself to put that damn thing on silent forever and ever, amen.

Not even a minute later, the phone rings again.

Jane peaks through an eyelid only to find that her hair is all over her face. "Oh great, I probably look like cousin It," she mumbles, before deciding it would be best to get up now.

The tough tomboy whimpers in pain as she pushes herself up on her shaky forearms. She slowly looks left… then right. This is so not her bedroom.

Not yet panicking, Jane turns over on her side, balancing on her elbow. She looks down. _Oh… that explains the cool breeze_. She's naked.

Still not yet alarmed, Jane reaches for her stupid smart phone on the nightstand. With one push of a button, the screen lights up.

Sunday 11:45 _9 missed calls from Ma_.

"Holy shit!"

Forgetting the ache in her head, Jane jumps off the bed and falls on the ground when the tangled sheets refuse to loosen their grip on her. There's no time to dwell on that though as she starts scrambling around the room to find her clothes. Under the bed she finds her pants, then dangling off a lamp shade she spots her sports bra, but nothing else. Where's her shirt? Aimlessly searching, she inadvertently trips over a large rock, and something clicks in her head.

"Wait a minute…" she says apprehensively. Jane takes another look around. Even though she's only been here once before, she'd recognize Maura's room anywhere. Who else lets a wild turtle roam freely in their own bedroom?

A sigh of relief escapes her because at least she knows the way back home from here. Now if only she could remember the way to the front door. No longer caring about her state of undress, Jane walks downstairs following an unknown blurry path. The smell of coffee carries her all the way to the kitchen and she grabs the first hot mug she sees.

"God, yes! Coffee, mm-ugh!" she scrunches her face up and sticks her tongue out as if in response to her gag reflex, "What the fuck is this? Decaf?" but she finishes the rest of the cup in a few more gulps.

"Hey! I was drinking that," protests the birthday party animal, "If you want coffee, the machine is right over there."

"That?" Jane points to some weird robot on the other side of the room, "It looks more complicated than a cockpit. Besides, I'm not sure I can handle anything that isn't just voice-activated." Jane slumps into a nearby stool and gently lays her head on the cool counter.

A little concerned about her companion, Maura asks, "Are you experiencing a headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, diarrhea and thirst?"

"Yes, no, yes and none of your business… And yes," is Jane's mumbled answer from beneath all her hair.

"I do believe you are suffering from _veisalgia_." Maura chuckles a bit at the funny word before having another bite of her morning snack.

"God, you're giving my hangover a hangover." But Maura's too busy munching away to reply. "Someone's got the munchies."

"Here, have a brownie. You look like a hurricane had it's way with you."

"Well, I'm a morning person, can you tell?"

Speaking of mornings, Maura remembers just how hers started. Her chewing slows down a bit and she averts her gaze from the other girl to hide her blush.

"Jane…" she starts, sheepishly, wondering if any of this will make any sense to the other girl. Jane doesn't make a sound, but Maura continues anyway. "…when I woke up, you were…"

Suddenly feeling a little confused, Jane sits up and looks at Maura's face. Oh right, the nakedness of it all. "Yeah, I know." She shrugs nonchalantly.

"But **I** wasn't…" Maura is quick to say, shaking her head but her sentence tapers off.

"Oh." That's a first. It's usually the other way around, but okay. "You're wearing my shirt." Jane notices for the first time.

"I am?" Maura looks down at herself, "I was wondering where I…" she loses her trail of thought. "What happened last night?"

Jane grins in mirth, "You mean you don't remember?"

"I have no memory after cutting the cake."

"Damn." Her expression sobers as she searches her mind for anything at all. "Cause I don't remember shit."

* * *

_We can call 'em friends and we can call them on their telephones_

_And they won't pretend that they're too busy or they're not alone._

_And if we can call them friends then we can call_

_Holler at em down these hallowed halls_

_Just don't let the human factor fail to be a factor at all_

* * *

"Well, I remember showing up," says Jane after a long silence. Cue the sepia filter as she has a flashback.

_Jane didn't get to knock on the door before it swung open. She awkwardly waved in recognition of the little old man who answered the door, but Maura was already running down the stairs in a panic before he could announce Jane's arrival._

_Maura was wearing an oversized white t-shirt that hung off one of her lightly freckled shoulders and faded denim jeans that hugged her legs like a second skin. And for a 15-year old, the girl had the rack of Goddess herself. That was all the hello Jane needed because Maura skipped that part completely in her frazzled state._

"_Jane, finally! I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."_

"_Whoa there. Where's the fire?"_

"_The caterers are late, none of the decorations are up, the wrong cake was delivered, and I have no idea what music should be played! Nothing's ready and the party is only an hour away." Sniffle._

"_Wha- what are… No-no-no, no crying please. I'm here now and we'll figure something out, just, don't cry on me, please." Jane begged. Tears always made her uncomfortable._

"_I can't…" sniffle "control…" sob "the co-connection-"_

"_Relax. Listen-"_

"_What am I going to do, Jane? I wanted this to be perfect. I can't cancel now." The girl was getting hysterical and the party hadn't even started yet._

"_Everyone's been talking about this party all week. No way we're cancelling now. Uh…" Jane looked around for inspiration, before getting into her business-like tone which calmed Maura down a bit. "We'll just order a bunch of pizzas, I'll see if I can call a friend to play music and I'll swing by the liquor store after we set up. Now go change into something you can, uh, work in."_

"_But these __**are**__ my working clothes." Maura shrugged her shoulders._

_Jane gave Maura the up-and-down with a highly quirked eyebrow._

"_Uh… kay. So, where's your phone?"_

_Jane dialed a very familiar number and ordered the most pizzas she's ever ordered in her life, at Maura's insistence, before scrapping 90% of the decorations the birthday girl wanted to put up. Clearly she wasn't lying when she said she'd neither thrown nor been to a house party before._

"_What is this, My Little Pony? … Let's save this one for Halloween, shall we? … Just, no."_

_Ding-dong!_

"_That must be Frost," said Jane as she put away the last breakable object. She'd told Maura earlier about the importance of keeping that kind of stuff out of sight in case of clumsy or sticky fingers._

_When Frost appeared in the doorway Jane couldn't help but burst out in laughter. They were wearing the exact same shirt._

_Frost laughed at his friend, "Now I know who I'll be going as for Halloween."_

_Jane rolled her eyes but ignored that statement. She'd get him back later._

"_And this is for you," he walked over to Maura, handing her a gift bag. His eyes nervously flicked to Jane who gave him a reassuring wink before going back to Maura._

"_Thank you, Barry," Maura hugged him tightly, "I'm sure I'll love it." Pulling back, she quickly looked at Jane who gave her a reassuring nod as well as if to say she said the right thing. Breathing a sigh of relief, Maura asked Frost about all the equipment he was carrying._

_Apparently, Jane asked him to DJ at the party, and he said YES! Naturally. How sweet._

_By the time the cars started parking along the driveway and into the street, Maura's birthday party was ready to rock 'n roll. She looked around and although the house looked a lot more plain than usual, it looked like a party pad instead of a museum. She walked over to Jane, who was putting down the last beer keg._

"_How did you get all this alcohol?" she asked, bewildered._

"_Fake ID. D'oh." Jane rubbed her lower back from all the heavy lifting._

_Maura's face showed all the shock she was feeling._

"_You're welcome," Jane smirked before taking one last look around. "Well, that's my cue to bounce then."_

_The birthday girl had forgotten about that part and suddenly felt a little sad. "You're really not staying?" she asked hopefully._

_People from school and elsewhere had already started pouring into the house, heading straight for the booze. Frost had a premixed set playing in the background while he laughed along with whatever his basketball team-mates were discussing. And Maura was still here, with her._

"_Well, the party's starting without you, so you should probably…" Jane trailed off looking into Maura's eyes. They were a little unsure and a bit scared, honestly._

"_You're right. I should probably go change first though." Maura turned around to go upstairs but a hand on her wrist stopped her. She turned around._

_Jane smiled before letting her go. "You look good." Maura didn't expect the ripple of pride that went through her chest cavity at those words. It was strange, but nice. "And, uh… I could stay for a beer… or two."_

_Maura sighed and smiled genuinely saying, "Thank you."_

_People came over to say hi and Jane introduced them to Maura for those who had no idea whose party they were attending. Surprisingly, half of them already knew of her. Secretly, some were surprised these two were hanging out at a party when they were so dead-set on killing each other a few weeks ago. _

_Guys and girls came up to meet and greet the host, some complimenting her on the awesome house and great party. Jane couldn't help but think she's never seen anyone so happy over a birthday party full of strangers before._

_Jane was on her second beer and telling a stupid story involving her best-friend when he showed up to correct her about a minor detail._

"_It was a jock-strap, not a thong! And how was I supposed to know the mirror was made of two-way glass?"_

"_Oh, I dunno, maybe because I TOLD YOU SO."_

_Everyone continued to laugh until the butt of the joke himself joined in._

"_You need a refill there, Maura?" he asked the honey-blonde as her own laughter died down._

"_She doesn't drink beer, man." Jane answers for her, the challenge evident in her smirk. "She's probably a light-weight anyway." The alcohol was working its way to loosening Jane's tongue and Maura was not about to back down. She'd been toting coasters and napkins for everyone until Jane just made her see there was no use._

"_Then how about a drinking game?" Frost suggested._

_Jane immediately liked the sound of that. "Yeah, that way you have to drink because you're the host and being sober at your own party is kinda lame. Sorry."_

"_Count me in," said Maura, never taking her eyes away from Jane's gaze._

_A collective cheer rang out as cups were filled and refilled to get ready for the craziest party game Maura's ever been a part of since pin the tail on the donkey when she was five. It's a mix between Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle and drink-drink-drink-drink if there ever was such a game. The first half left Maura pretty intoxicated even after only 3 cups of beer and 2 tequila shots, but she wasn't able to avoid any of it since the rules were really unclear. Truth is, everyone had a silent agreement that they would get her drunk first before the game could get interesting. So they made up the rules as they went._

"_Okay, Maura's turn to spin the bottle."_

_With the little co-ordination she still had left, Maura spun the bottle and it landed on none other than Jane Rizzoli. Jane smirked but didn't say anything as everyone chanted "Kiss and make up!"_

_Obviously Frost wasn't one of them as his laughter quickly turned into an awkward cough. Jane wouldn't, would she?_

"_Truth or dare, Jane?" smirks Maura with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Jane was beginning to like this new side to her personality.  
_

"_Truth."_

"_Why do you hate that I come from a wealthy family?"_

"_Really? Of all the things to ask me?"_

"_You never want to talk about it."_

"_Yeah well, it's not worth talking about."_

"_I'll be the judge of that."_

_Mulling over how much to share, Jane decided on two difficult words to utter, "Becky Zisti."_

_There was a flicker of something in Jane's eyes which told Maura that this was a very sensitive subject and the way everyone went quiet and looked anywhere but at Jane told her it may have been public. Sensing the awkwardness, someone moves the game along._

"_Okay! Jane's turn!"_

_Jane spun the bottle and it almost landed on Rachel the cheerleader, but then it inched a little more and landed on…_

"_Maura. Truth or dare?"_

"_Dare."_

"_I dare you to go bra-less for the rest of the night."_

_The crowd whooped and hollered for that one. Game on._

_As if they were the only two people there, Maura kept her eyes locked on Jane's as she unclasped her strapless bra, and held it out triumphantly in the air. The cherry on top was when she threw it straight in Jane's face. Game level up._

_For some unexplainable cosmic aligning, every time the bottle was spun by either Rizzoli or Isles, it landed on the other. They even changed the bottle to see if it was rigged somehow. When Jane would ask Maura to do something embarrassing, she'd do it with finesse. When Maura would ask Jane something personal, she'd make sure to get her back. And so on… To the point where everyone just wanted them to kiss and make up already._

_They started chanting again, over and over. Maura gave Jane a questioning look, and Jane returned it, but neither leaned in. Until someone else volunteered to kiss the birthday girl. Game over.  
_

"_Y'know, for a nerd, you're kinda hot," crowed one of the football guys when they came over to find out what all the commotion was about. He put an arm around Maura to get closer, but also to keep his balance since he was way beyond skunk-drunk at that moment._

"_Fly away, Crowe." Jane immediately stood up defensively, as did Frost who pushed the guy's arm away._

"_Well, if it isn't our resident Gold Star lesbian… I mean, athlete." He and his buddies laughed at the lame joke._

"_I see your voice finally broke," countered Jane, "You should put in an order for some balls."_

"_Is that what you did after yours broke?" The hoodlums laughed again, harder than any audience at a Def Comedy Jam. Jane was unfazed._

"_Nah, I don't usually have to strap em on. But it must really suck, y'know, being neither a shower or a grower."_

"_Ooohhh…" went the nosy party people, being the instigators they are. And for some reason, Jane hit a nerve._

"_Shut the fuck up, Rizzoli!" he shouted, instantly angry. Boy's got some issues apparently._

_Innocently, as if she stepped on the wrong button by accident, Jane says, "What did I say? I was just talking about your hair."_

_And the music stopped._

_Everybody within hearing distance started howling even louder than before, including Crowe's drunk football buddies, slapping high fives and some spilling their drinks. It was no secret why he started shaving his head a few years ago. Baldness ran in his family, but so did jerkiness, so Jane didn't feel too bad as he stumbled away with his tail between his legs._

"And then he turned into a pig and flew away…" adds Maura, wistfully.

Sepia turns back into Technicolor as Jane snaps back to Maura here and now. Leaning closer, she studies her intently. "Maura?"

"Yes, Jane?"

"Are you high?"

Maura looks at Jane as if she just suggested the most outrageous thing in the world. Then she starts giggling.

* * *

**A/N: **_Tables & Chairs_ by ANDREW BIRD. Next chapter we find out more of what really happened.


	11. Hangover Part 2: Keep Off the Grass

**11. The Hangover Part 2: **Keep Off The Grass

* * *

The first time Jane got high, she practically lived in the movie _Inception_. Maybe the joint was laced with something or Jane has a fucked up sense of reality to begin with, but that became the last time for a reason. Now imagine having all these useless random facts in your head while the high morphs your point of view. God help us all.

* * *

_Purple haze all in my brain_

_Many things just don't seem the same_

_Acting funny but I don't know why_

_Excuse me while I kiss the sky_

* * *

Before Maura can protest, Jane has already taken the marijuanated brownie out of her hand and emptied the entire container into the trash. Maura lurches forward to stop her.

"Jane! Those were almost as good as the fudge clusters Barry gave me!"

Keeping Maura away, Jane holds her securely at bay, "You were one more bite away from sprouting dreadlocks. I think you've had enough."

"I only had one…" Maura holds out one finger with a pained expression on her face, "After the first two," she amends, adding two more fingers. "You're so bossy," she huffs.

"You can be bossy too!"

"Am not!" Maura is affronted.

"Are too. You're just all polite and nice about it." Then Maura's gaze focuses on something behind Jane. "What are you looking at now? Purple elephants in tutus?"

"Your shirt." Maura points over Jane's shoulder.

"You mean the one you're wearing?" Jane is sure this is a ploy to get her attention focused elsewhere so Maura can nab the goods out of the bin. No way, José.

"No, the one Suzie Chang is wearing."

Jane whips around to find none other than Suzie Chang wearing what could easily be her shirt. Then she looks at Maura. And then back at Suzie.

"Did we…? Is that…?"

Suzie just shrugs her shoulders and heads for the coffee machine. "Anybody seen my brownies?"

"Those were yours?" Jane can't believe her ears.

"What?" shrugs the Chang as she effortlessly punches in a combination to get her cappuccino, "Girl's not allowed to have some fun with chemistry every once in a while?"

"You bake? Can you give me the recipe? I really, really, really liked those brownies but Jane threw them away!"

"What! Where? Three-minute rule."

"It's the three-**second** rule, so fuggedaboutit. Now, what the Hell's going on?"

"Relax. This is Frost's shirt."

That explains nothing, but at least Jane didn't get up to no good with the Chang.

"He's still here? Wait, you two…"

"No, and I wish. I haven't seen him since after you and Crowe…"

* * *

_Crowe walked away with a final "Fuck you," and disappeared into one of the many crowded parts of the Isles mansion. Jane almost felt bad for the guy, but the same reason she only has a few close friends is exactly what was happening right then. They don't always have your back._

_Without warning Jane took off in the opposite direction just as Frost went to make sure Maura's alright before checking out what happened to the music._

_That is the point when someone offered Maura a delicious brownie and she almost immediately started to feel a little funny. Funny ha-ha. It was like being inside Alice in Wonderland. The book of course._

_She went upstairs to her room to get away from the noise outside her head._

_Bursting in through the door, she was surprised to see two girls in bed together. They both looked up briefly, "Oh, hey. Great party," smiled the dark haired beauty on top before going back about their business. Realizing this isn't really her room, Maura says a quick "Oops," before running down the hall in a fit of laughter._

_Making sure it was definitely the right one this time, she walked into her room and shut the door by leaning back against it, giggling uncontrollably._

"_Holy Galifianakis!" exclaimed the honey-brunette in fright when Jane came in from the balcony, but the laughter bubbled up again and spilled forth._

_Jane had been trying to get away from exactly her, but seeing Maura totally out of it made her smile despite herself. "What's up with you?" she asked._

"_I just- I saw- they were… in my parents' bedroom!" Maura tried to explain between sniggers._

"_You saw people having sex in your parents' bed?" Jane gathered._

_Maura just nodded, not being able to stop giggling. She swayed precariously over to her homework desk and sat on the desktop, feet on the chair._

"_Maura Isles: sitting on a table when there's a perfectly good chair," said Jane in her best posh accent, "I'm shocked." She stood with her hands in her pockets leaning against the balcony door frame. The further they were from each other, the better._

_Maura rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, what's the big whoop?" clumsily leaning back on her hands and knocking a pencil onto the floor._

"_What's the big whoop?" Jane scoffed; shaking her head as she sympathetically took the other girl in. "It must be very complicated to be you."_

"_You have no idea…" Maura stared at the tall, dark figure standing in her room like she owned it. "What are __**you**__ doing here?"_

"_It's __**your**__ party. I should be asking __**you**__ that." Jane deflected._

"_It's past my bed-time."_

_Jane's heart did a little flip wondering if that was Maura's first real use of sarcasm, or whether she was just being her literal self. Either way, it was… "Cute." Yep, I just said that out loud. What's the big whoop?_

"_Don't try out your smooth-talking on me, Jane Rizzoli. I'm not that easy. Even though you did defend me against that guy."_

_Jane laughed. "Guys like him are the ass-crack of humanity. But relax; I'm not gonna just jump your bones like some caveman. I just think you're cute sometimes."_

_Blame it on the alcohol._

"_Good, because even with my consent that would be statutory rape."_

"_Whoa." Jane held her hands up defensively. "Even if that was my intention, mood officially killed."_

"_What did I say?"_

"_Nothing, but I see the rumor mill finally got a hold of you."_

_A slow smile graced Maura's face. "I've heard you're really good at what you do."_

_Jane shifted from one hip to the other being unsure of where this conversation was headed. "What I do?" she asked._

"_Yeah… really, really, really good…" Maura wiggled her eyebrows, finding her own antics pretty amusing._

_If Maura wanted to go there, then Jane was going to give as good as she got. So she stood up and took a few steps closer, lowering her voice to ask, "And what is it that I do?"_

_Maura watched Jane carefully, measuring her movements, "You tell me."_

"_Tell me what you've heard," another step, "and then __**I'll**__ tell you the truth. If you dare…"_

_Maura huffed out a big sigh. She just couldn't seem to extract the info she wants without letting on that she knew nothing. So she tested a theory. "Are you celibate?"_

_Jane laughed out loud. Like, LOL for real. She hadn't heard that one before. "Uh, something like that," she answered referring to her bet with Frost._

"_Is that why you wouldn't kiss me?"_

_Jane's eyebrows quirked in surprise, her reply slow and calculating, "Did you really want me to kiss you?"_

_Maura swallowed dryly. "I… "_

"_Maura?"_

"_I…"_

"_Maura, look at me."_

"_I don't feel so good." Maura looked as if she was about to faint. And were those hives on her neck?_

"_You're about to lie aren't you?" Maura averted her gaze. Busted. "Is this your way of telling me you're attracted to me?"_

"_Like we've said before, Jane, we're complete opposites and-"_

"_Opposites attract." Jane shrugged._

_Maura let out another defeated sigh. "Apparently."_

_Jane moved to stand right in front of Maura, leaning her arms over the chair between them. "I thought I wasn't your type," she smirked._

"_You aren't!" Maura hastily declared, refusing to have the tables turned on her again._

"_But you're attracted to me," Jane nodded once. It wasn't a question._

_Maura relented, "Yes, well, nobody's perfect."_

_Jane rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but be amused by this sudden turn of events. "Relax, it won't show up on your criminal record."_

_Feeling a little embarrassed, Maura moved to get away from Jane, but Jane gently pushed her to sit back down. "No wait." She absent-mindedly brushed some hair out of Maura's face, "We aren't done talking yet." Maura found herself leaning into the contact. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath._

"_Were you smoking?" Her eyes opened. "It's just that I can smell it on you."_

_Jane looked into Maura's eyes, wondering if she's always this candid. "Yeah," she husked, almost as if to affirm the truth even more. "But they're prescription."_

_Maura smiled. Sarcasm. "I didn't know you smoked."_

_Jane dropped her hand from Maura's face, but the other girl guided it into her own. The action both confused and intrigued Jane. "I, uh, don't make a habit out of it. Only sometimes. At parties."_

"_But you were smoking last week when we were doing our project."_

_Jane shrugged again. "I was a little anxious."_

"_About the project?"_

_Jane's eyes dropped to Maura's lips for a brief but significant moment. "No," she said. Being in such close proximity with Maura was doing something weird though vaguely familiar to her. She pulled her hand out of Maura's light grasp, which made Maura's face drop a little, but ventured to try something else instead. She slowly leaned into her, reached behind her head and pulled out Maura's ponytail and then took her glasses off. And wow. "Wow."_

"_What?" asked Maura, feeling a little exposed without her specs._

"_Your eyes, they're… wow." Jane couldn't stop staring at all those colors. They hadn't turned on the lights, but Maura's eyes shined brighter and more beautiful than any star she's ever wished upon, that's for sure. Jane was too enamored to even realize she was waxing poetic in her head about a girl's eyes._

_Maura searched Jane's face for an explanation. "Your pupils are dilated."_

_Not thinking, Jane answered, "It's dark in here."_

"_Your hands are clammy."_

"_It's warm too," she said preoccupied with those hazel orbs._

"_Your pulse has quickened."_

"_No, it hasn't."_

"_You're attracted to me too!" Maura's mouth hung open in stunned amusement._

_Jane came back into her body and snorted, "You're drunk."_

"_So?" Maura didn't deny it. "You're still exhibiting all of the classic signs of arousal."_

"_Then __**I'm**__ drunk." Jane countered, standing up straight and away from Maura._

_Maura groaned in frustration. "You are so frustrating. You won't kiss me even though I want you to, and you want to, but I don't know why I want you to when all you ever do is say rude things and tease me mercilessly-"_

"_I tease everyone."_

"_-and now you won't even admit that you find me attractive. What are you so afraid of?"_

"_Psh- Nothing."_

"_I don't believe you. Because then you would have kissed me by now."_

_Jane shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe we're having this conversation right now."_

"_Does this have something to do with Becky Zisti?"_

"_If I tell you what happened, will you drop this whole attraction business?"_

"_Scout's honor," said Maura, knowing very well that she is no girl scout. Sneaky-sneaky._

_Jane pushed Maura's legs away to sit on the chair nearby._

"_Once upon a time… before Frost and basketball and separate eyebrows –don't ask– Rebecca was my best friend. We were neighbors our whole lives and I guess that's really the only thing we ever had in common, now that I think of it, but she was a good friend. Even when I was Roly Poly Rizzoli or when I was frog face-"_

_Maura's chuckle earned her a glare._

"_It's not funny, Maura! No!"_

"_It's not funny." Maura shook her head, admonishing herself._

"_I'm not a frog face!"_

"_Of course. No!"_

"_Anyway," Jane pointedly went on, "so puberty happened and I became this tall, skinny thing, but Becky, she became this…" Jane's hands went out in front of her as if to demonstrate the sudden inflation of the girl's bust-size. "… Boobzilla."_

_Jane looked up to see Maura silently chuckling along with her and it made her actually want to continue with the story._

"_And then boys started hanging around her a lot. Some girls too, but she was totally straight. But then one day she stopped hanging out with me. Cold turkey. I only ever saw her if we both had the same classes or if we happened to bump into each other in the girl's bathroom, but otherwise I became nobody to her. And rumors started flying around that I made moves on her or whatever, which I hadn't. So I confronted her. I waited for her after school, asked her what her problem was and she just said that she had moved on to 'bigger and better things'," Jane air quoted, "and then this beautiful Spyker C8 Laviolette pulls up. It wasn't even out yet. It was still a prototype. And Becky walks over and gives the driver a kiss and they drive off into the fucking sunset. She ditched me just for some rich guy, can you believe that?"_

"_How tragic."_

"_Yeah! Or at least I thought so. But anyway, a few months later Becky dropped out of school and her family moved away to another state all of a sudden. You know why, Maura?" she asked rhetorically but Maura played along._

"_No. Why did they move?"_

"_Cause that rich fucker knocked her up and to avoid a 'scandal', his parents wanted to pay her to get rid of the kid, but Becky's family wouldn't hear of it being Catholic and all, so they paid them to move to fucking I-don't-know-where. And I know it isn't fair to judge you and everyone with money based on the scumbag who basically took my best-friend away from me and kinda ruined her life, but do you get where I'm coming from?"_

_Maura nodded slowly and then nonchalantly ran her fingers through Jane's curls, caressing her scalp. "I'm not like that," she whispered._

_Jane hummed softly in approval of her actions, "I think I'm starting to see that. But, you seem to also have some preconceived notions about me based on gossip." Jane looked up with a stern look._

"_Truce?" Maura tried, tilting her head to the side to gauge Jane's willingness to forgive and forget her earlier forwardness._

"_Only if you go to sleep now. It's nearly three a.m."_

_Maura mulled it over, tilting her head to the opposite side. She wasn't tired yet._

"_Hmm… Play me a song?"_

"_I think your dead people music wouldn't be such a bad idea right now. You should sleep." Jane yawned._

"_No. I don't want to sleep." Maura whined._

"_Well, what __**do**__ you wanna do?"_

"_I want you…" Maura dragged the word out and winked before taking both Jane's hands in her own, "to dance with me."_

"_I have, like, two bars left on my phone." Last time she checked._

"_Just one song," Maura pled, "I like to dance"_

"_I know," Jane smirked, "I saw. You're really good."_

_Maura smiled dreamily, then her expression changed to acute embarrassment remembering how she was dared to give Jane a lap dance earlier on in the night._

_Jane stood up to tower over the smaller girl and absent-mindedly plugged her phone into the docking station pondering what Maura's motives were._

"_One song."_

_Then Maura reached up to wrap her arms around Jane's neck as well as her legs around the taller girl's waist._

_Jane made no move to lift her up or to push her away. But her resolve was crumbling._

_She was too drunk and tired to keep resisting this girl's advances, and at that moment, her bet with Frost, and Frost's feelings for Maura were the furthest things in her mind. All she could see and feel were Maura's eyes and her body wrapped around her like a snuggie. A very sexy snuggie._

_Jane reached around to grab Maura's ass and lifted her off the desk._

"_This is a mistake," she said breathily as Maura bit her own lip._

"_I know."_

_Maura leaned in slowly and kissed Jane on her dimpled chin. Jane grinned and placed a quick peck on Maura's nose._

"_One song. Then you sleep."_

"_You're so frustrating."_

_Both didn't even care that no music was playing since the battery had long since died. Jane carried Maura around her waist, high heels dropping to the floor, but swayed a bit with the alcohol consumption. Maura tightened her arms' grip around Jane's neck and inhaled, closing her eyes. When Maura slipped a bit, Jane tightened her grip on Maura too and stumbled back onto the bed into a sitting position._

"_You can't sleep with these on," she said referring to Maura's jeans._

_Maura leaned back and looked down at Jane into her dark eyes. Wordlessly, she nodded. Jane pressed a long kiss to Maura's clavicle before rolling her over to lie on the bed._

_Maura remained still, not sure what Jane's intentions were. Jane smiled and unbuttoned Maura's jeans before tapping her on the hip to lift up a bit. The pants slowly got pulled down._

_Once those were thrown across the room, Jane found her hands subconsciously roaming up Maura's ridiculously smooth legs. Maura sighed at the contact but kept as still as possible. Her nipples were poking through her t-shirt and Jane was finding it hard, almost painful, to ignore it._

_They shouldn't be doing this. It's wrong on so many levels. It only feels right for the wrong reasons. No good can come from this. It's the alcohol. It's the atmosphere. It's withdrawals. It's… too late._

_Maura reached for the button of Jane's jeans._

* * *

_Purple haze all around_

_Don't know if I'm coming up or down_

_Am I happy or in misery_

_Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me_

* * *

**A/N: **Maura's high was brought to you courtesy of _Purple Haze_ by JIMI HENDRIX. This chapter was fun to write, so I hope it was fun to read. Viewer, REVIEW. Next, the last piece of the hangover puzzle.


	12. Hangover Part 3: It's Complicated

**12. The Hangover Part 3: **It's Complicated

* * *

_One pill makes you larger_

_And one pill makes you small_

_And the ones that mother gives you __don't do anythin' at all_

_Go ask Alice when she's ten feet tall__  
_

_When the men on the chessboard __get up and tell you where to go_

_And you have just had some kind of mushroom __and your mind is movin' low_

_Go ask Alice, I think she'll know_

* * *

Snap... Snap. Snap! _Wave_…

Suzie puts her hand back down and turns to meet Maura's concerned face with a direly furrowed brow. She sighs, "We did all we could for her. I'm sorry."

Jane has been sitting on the kitchen stool with her eyes wide and glazed over as if she just saw the ghost of Lincoln himself. And the other two girls have been unsuccessful in snapping her out of it.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asks Maura slowly.

Taking a moment to consider whether she would even want to be thinking the same thing as a stoned genius, Suzie's smart reply is, "Uh…"

Maura, too intent on scrutinizing Jane's current state, steamrolls on with her theory, "That she may be rather severely dehydrated due to the diuretic properties of ethanol?"

Suzie leans against the kitchen counter, "Nope. Not even close to what I'm thinking."

"That excess NADH caused her citric acid cycle to shut down?" Maura tries again.

Suzie sips her cappuccino. "Well… Now that you mention it, no."

"Maybe the use of _pyruvate_ and lactate _dehydrogenase_ to correct the imbalance may have impaired her liver's ability to compensate for a drop in blood glucose levels. And you know what happens when the brain loses its primary energy source…" Maura says in a stage whisper as if she was recalling an inside joke they had.

"She _is_ exhibiting symptoms of **acute** ethanol withdrawal," Suzie acknowledges, "but I was thinking that maybe she remembered something really wackadoodle from last night," googlemouths Suzie Chang.

"Oh," says Maura with a thoughtful expression. Then her brain tells her to go right up to Jane's face and poke her cheeks.

"Hey!" Jane snaps out of her sepia-filtered mind.

Maura turns to Suzie, "You really think so?"

They continue as if Jane isn't even in the room.

"Uh-huh, but I think now she's just staring at us."

"Because of the scowl on her face?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe she's suffering from latent regret at having thrown away those brownies."

"About those, I need to tell you something."

"What? Do I have spinach caught in my teeth?" Maura sucks air through her teeth, feeling them out with her tongue.

Spinach? From where?

"If there's something green caught in your teeth right now, it's definitely not spinach, Maura."

Having had enough, Jane gets up and says, "Chang? You got this, right?" she gestures towards Maura.

"No problem, Rizzoli," she answers a little too cheerily, wrapping an arm around Maura's neck chummily. Maura excitedly returns the gesture. "Look, twinsies. Yay!" They giggle.

Jane points a finger and a stern glare at her, "No baking. I mean it," she growls.

Both Suzie and Maura let out a synchronized sigh of anticlimax.

"Party pooper," mumbles one.

"So bossy," grumbles the other.

Jane rolls her eyes. "I'd offer to help clean up, but I'm sure you already have an army of cleaners on your payroll."

"You're leaving?" Maura asks, pouting as Jane quickly backs away. Is the party over already?

"Yeah." Jane does not make eye contact with the other girl. "I wasn't even supposed to stay for the party, remember? Ma's gonna have a field day." She grabs Suzie's coffee mug and almost empties the entire contents into her mouth in one gulp. "By the way," she burps, "'scuse me, it's really weird seeing you both without your glasses on."

"And it's really nice seeing you without your shirt on, right Maura?" Suzie nudges her friend in the ribs.

Jane chokes on her last sip as her eyes bug out. She uses the back of her hand to wipe her mouth and turns quickly to get away. She had no problem walking around in only her bra and jeans before, but now she felt a strange sense of overexposure. She had drunken sex with her best-friend's dream girl. Screw the bet, if Frost were to find out…

She has to get the fuck away from Maura right now. She needs space to think, and fast. Jane practically runs out of the kitchen without another word.

"What about your shirt!" Maura shouts after her.

"Keep it!"

"I'll see you at school then?"

The door slams, echoing throughout the big house.

* * *

_When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead_

_And the White Knight is talkin' backwards __and the Red Queen's off with her head_

_Remember what the Doormouse said_

_"Feed your head, feed your head"_

* * *

Suzie ends up spending the rest of the day at the Isles mansion, nursing her new friend back to sound mental health using her own wackadoodle methods that she discovered by accident after a high. Her parents are out for the day anyway, so why not hang out in a mansion in the mean-time?

They both freshen up but end up in the matching shirts they were wearing before. Lazy Sundays rule! The girls lie on Maura's bed side by side staring at the beautifully painted ceilings.

Greta shuts the bedroom door after bringing up some of that pink lemonade and that's Suzie's cue to turn onto her stomach and quirk her eyebrow at Maura, "What was that about?" she asks referring to the employee's parting comment that 'the sheets were changed in all the rooms'.

"I, uhm," Maura blushes and covers her eyes with an arm across her face. "I think someone had sex in my parents' bedroom last night. Unless it was another hallucination." Reality and illusion mixed around in her memory bank, so she isn't too sure about anything.

Suzie gasps and bursts out into a fit of laughter.

"And don't ask me who, because I don't know."

Suzie pouts and then grins, "Makes sense though. Most kids only ever go to house parties to get wasted, high, or laid."

"That much I gathered," Maura smiles shaking her head. If only she had known.

"So… what do you remember from last night?" asks the Chang looking down at her fellow classmate. She had been waiting all day for Maura so come back to earth and tell her the juicy tit-bits.

Maura narrows her eyes and sticks her tongue out in deep thought and concentration. "It's all a bit blurry after cutting the cake," she says hesitantly.

"I must've gotten in after that. Is that when you started playing those drinking games?" The made-up ones, Suzie leaves out.

"I believe so. And for some reason, I kept losing!"

"Don't beat yourself up about it," she pats the other girl on her head. "Then what happened?"

"Well, I remember being dared to take my bra off, to give Jane a lap dance and then we were dared to kiss, but instead some guy…" she trails off, the name escaping her.

"Yeah, Darren Crowe. I saw that part."

"You were there the whole time? Why didn't you come say hello?"

"I did, but you and Jane were too busy having eye-sex." Suzie waggles her eyebrows.

"Wha- that's not- we were **drunk**."

"Tipsy maybe, but that had nothing to do with it."

"Anyway, I went up to my room and Jane was there…"

"Waiting for you? Ooh… The plot thickens." Suzie rests her chin on her interlinked fingers. Story time.

"She wasn't waiting for me, she was… smoking."

Suzie rolls her eyes, "She's smoking hot, I know, but what did you do about it?"

With the most conviction she can muster, "I told her that if we had sex, with or without my consent, it would technically be statutory rape."

Suzie's jaws plummets. "Oh. My. God. No wonder she ran out like she did! Are you friggin' kidding me, Maura?"

"What? It's the truth," shrugs Maura.

"Yeah and it's also true that everybody poops but that **does not** in any way make it appropriate bedroom talk." _Was Maura for real? Please tell me it's the brownies speaking._

"Well, I wasn't trying to seduce her," Maura says, playing with the bottom hem of Jane's shirt. The hives stay hidden underneath the fabric.

"Clearly."

The 15-year-old lets out a groan of embarrassment over what her next words were about to be. She hasn't been able to speak to anyone about any of the conflicting feelings she's had since starting public school, except Jeffrey, but with Suzie she felt a kindred spirit. Maybe she could make sense of some of these feelings she's been having.

"I just wanted to know why she wouldn't kiss me, then the next I know, she's carrying me to the bed and our clothes come off…"

"Really? Maybe your bedroom talk actually worked. Go on. Tell me everything."

* * *

_"This will go quicker if I just-" Jane slurred, clumsily sliding off the bed to remove her clothes herself. Maura just nodded, watching as the athlete slothfully wrestled her pants off her legs and reached for the hem of her shirt. "Get under the covers," Jane tilted her head at the half-naked girl whose hair was splayed out on the pillow._

_Maura laughed at the thought of Jane having a bit of a traditional streak, but did as she was told, forgetting she still had her t-shirt on, and too distracted by the silhouette of Jane in nothing but her underwear._

_After tugging her sports bra off and flinging it into the shadowy nether, Jane climbed back rather ungracefully, slipping under the covers._

_She couldn't care less about being smooth and suave at that moment. She's had basketball practice all week after school, 2 beers and countless shots, so sue her._

_In the dark and without her glasses, Maura could vaguely make out the chiseled contours of Jane's body as the moonlight came in from her windows to hit her at certain angles, but the blind girl still had to touch to believe what she was seeing. She closed her eyes as Jane settled her warm body above her, then against her, on top of her… Squashing her._

_Then she heard the snoring._

_"Jane!"_

_The athlete did not stir._

_Taking a few more moments to enjoy the feel and warmth and smell of Jane, Maura huffed as she shoved the other girl off of her. A part of her felt annoyed while the other felt a twinge of relief that they hadn't gotten too carried away. Maura had no idea how much alcohol could affect her until that night, but thank goodness for the tiring effect it seemed to have on Jane._

_Feeling a slight chill, she found some pajama bottoms to wear and nearly tripped over the shirt Jane had haphazardly discarded in her lust-filled haze. Maura picked it up and held it up to her nose. It smelled of Jane and she somehow found a bit of comfort in that. So she put it on over her t-shirt before plugging her (and Jane's) phone into the charger and getting back in bed._

_By the time she woke up the next morning, Jane had her wrapped up in her arms like a snuggie. A very sexy snuggie. But she couldn't remember why._

* * *

"Damn. You didn't even get to have a proper kiss." Suzie had her chin propped up on one fist sporting a very bored look on her face. _What a waste_, she thought.

"I'm not so sure that's a bad thing," Maura shook her head not believing her own flashback, "I wasn't in my right mind last night."

Suzie smiled, "Who can think straight when Jane Rizzoli's naked on top of you?"

"Save for her underwear. That never came off," Maura is quick to point out, not that it makes much difference in the Chang's eyes. You can do a lot of things with your underwear on. "And I didn't really see anything. It was dark and my glasses-"

Hold the phone!

"Wait a minute," Suzie interrupts, having a massive light-bulb moment. "So basically, Jane thinks that you two had sex last night, but just doesn't remember?"

Maura's head tilts contemplatively and plays with the hem of Jane's shirt, "I suppose. She did seem rather rattled."

A smirking Chang is a dangerous Chang. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" she quirks an eyebrow at her new buddy.

"That Jane and Barry have a sense of fashion that leaves much to be desired?" asks Maura.

Suppressing the urge for a face-palm, Suzie says, "We'll work on the telekinesis thing, but I'm thinking you should have some fun with this information."

"Suzie! I couldn't." Maura tries to act shocked and appalled at the idea, but she isn't fooling anybody.

"Oh yes you can," Suzie nudges her shoulder.

"I can't lie."

"You don't have to. She already believes it's true!" The excitement is building in her brain as the notion sinks in and metastasizes.

"But why would I want to do that to her?"

"From what I know, the girl's been on your case since you first got here."

"We've moved past that."

"Have you? Cause if not, now's the time to get even. Besides, high school is boring. Girl's gotta get her kicks somewhere, right?"

"That would not end well."

"Who cares? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Maura went blank. She had no idea how to answer that question. She doesn't know what Jane Rizzoli is capable of, but at the same time she isn't too worried. Surely, being the joker she is, Jane may be able laugh it off… But she wouldn't want to assume.

About to say a firm 'No,' Maura makes the mistake of looking Suzie Chang in the eyes. Like some weird hypnosis, she changes her mind and decides this will be a nice bonding session with her new friend. Friend. Maura smiles at the thought, but that quickly turns into a devilish smirk.

"Alright, what do I do?"

* * *

**A/N:** _White Rabbit_ by EMILIANA TORRINI is playing in my head.

Your reviews give me the aww's. Thanks for playing along, guys. And I think I'm falling in love with this OOC Chang. She's like the devil on Maura's shoulder, whereas Frost is the angel on Jane's shoulder. Hehehe…


	13. Chapter 13: Oops I Did It Again

**13. Oops I Did It Again**

* * *

Jane left the Isles mansion dreading the tongue-lashing she was sure to get. Getting home an entire day late isn't something Angela Rizzoli would let slip her mind. A part of Jane almost wanted to be punished though.

She anxiously drums her fingers against the steering wheel all the way home and up the driveway, the path no more than a blur as she loses herself in her thoughts. Luckily she's a really good driver even on autopilot, or else her car would be hugging a tree right about now.

After she cuts the engine, Jane digs around in the back seat for an old ratty top she must have left there some time ago. It's her father's old _Rizzoli & Sons_ t-shirt, and briefly she debates throwing it out the window and entering the house topless. She sighs and swallows her pride for once, donning the unwanted souvenir and getting out of the car.

Tommy's bike is abandoned on the lawn and the windows are closed, so she figures her family must still be at Mass or something. Striding over to the front door in a hurry to get out of the scorching heat, Jane twists the door knob and slams her body into the obstinate piece of lumber.

"_Fuuuck_…" whispers Jane to herself when she realizes the door is locked.

When Angela and the boys get back home an hour later, Jane is sprawled out in her backseat. Eyes shut, but not really sleeping. Her legs dangling out of the window. She hears locks click and door hinges squeak, but nobody comes over to talk to her. Now she knows she's in for it _fo shizzle_.

Bracing herself to be chased around the house by her rolling-pin-wielding mother, Jane exits the safety of her car and enters a warzone.

Or not. Angela doesn't say much as Jane walks in through the front door and trudges her way upstairs. As odd and unsettling as it feels for Jane to be practically ignored by her mother like that, she isn't sure right now is a good time for one of their one-sided mother-daughter chit-chats (a.k.a interrogation).

Jane rids herself of her clothes and spends a good half-hour drowning her sorrows in a long, hot, contemplative shower. When she walks back into her room towel-drying her dripping wet, long hair, she's almost surprised to find her Ma patiently waiting for her. Jane shuts the door behind her.

"Janie…" Angela starts, prompting her daughter to stop fidgeting and look at her. "Come sit," she commands gently patting the spot next to her on Jane's messy bed.

The youngster plops down with a sigh, slouching a bit forward as her elbows rest on her towel-clad knees. Here it comes…

"Here." Angela gives Jane what looks to be a _first aid kit_ at first glance, but upon further inspection…

"Oh. My. God." Jane flops backwards on her bed before covering her face with both hands and groaning into them.

Ma Rizzoli rolls her eyes half-heartedly. "Don't be such a drama queen. Do you know how many kids would kill to be able to talk to their parents about these things?"

"Less than zero, Ma. No one."

Instead of disinfectant and gauze and band-aids and the like, inside the little white metal box are gloves, condoms, dental dams and pamphlets. _And when the Hell did Ma get a hold of Gardasil?_

Yep, Angela Rizzoli put together Jane's very own customized safe sex kit.

"I've been waiting for the right time to bring up 'the talk'," air-quotes Angela, "but I guess right now's as good a time as any," she shrugs.

"How about never? Never works for me."

Does her mother sit around sometimes purposefully thinking up the most embarrassing situations to put her daughter in and say, _'Ah! Definitely a Sunday affair'_?

Losing her patience, the parent says, "Would you sit up, this is serious," pulling Jane's hands off her face.

"Can't we-"

"No," Jane's plea for postponement is swiftly cut off. "We're talking about it now. Not later. Not never. Now!"

"Can I at least put some clothes on?"

"Go ahead. Nothing I haven't seen already anyway."

At _that_ comment, Jane makes sure to keep her arms as low as possible.

The mortified teenager tries to stall for more time by moving as slowly as possible, but Angela, seeing right through her, just sighs and gets the ball rolling.

"I'm not here to ask you if you've been… active." Angela's voice is almost shy in that way parents get when they're embarrassed for themselves more than for the kids. "I don't think I really wanna know. I'm just here to make sure you're safe."

Slipping her pajama top on before flipping her cold, wet hair out from underneath, Jane turns to her mother with unexpected adoration.

"Thanks," she says, hoping her mother isn't expecting her to finish off with _'…and don't worry, I've been saving myself for marriage'_, because that would be a bald-faced lie.

"I still have other questions though. Like where the Heavens were you? You had me worried sick last night, Janie. I heard some of the kids at your school talking about a party, and I figured that's where you must've snuck off to when you didn't come home from your 'tutor lesson', so I called just to make sure but you wouldn't pick up, Janie. Why do you do this to your poor old mother-?"

Angela's signature rant put a soft smile on Jane's face but she somehow did not understand how this was still the same conversation.

"So you decided to order a safe lesbian sex kit for me?" asked the confused girl.

"Janie, this isn't the first time you've been out all night without telling me where you were going." Angela's solemnity makes her feel bad for interrupting.

Jane's shoulders sag and she sits back down next to her mother. Just great. Not only is she the world's worst best-friend, now she's a crappy daughter to boot.

"I know… I'm sorry, Ma. But I really wasn't planning on staying this time. It kinda just… happened."

Angela restrains herself from asking exactly 'what' just happened and she almost passes out from the effort. Jane reads her face loud and clear.

"But I'm all in one piece, see? I can take care of myself, Ma. But I'm sorry I worried you. I really should've called. I shouldn't have left in the first place. You should take my car keys. And lock me up in some faraway tower like Rapunzel." Jane rambles on, Catholic guilt settling in.

"Damn right. And I'm starting to think you were lying about getting a tutor."

"Wha- no! It's actually _her_ party I went to."

With narrowed eyes, the older woman places her arms akimbo.

"That doesn't really help your case since you won't tell me anything about her y'know. Are you two secretly dating?"

Eye roll. Face palm. "Ma, I don't have a girlfriend. And I'm definitely not dating my tutor. Ever."

Angela does that thing where she goes from mad to meddling in point four seconds. And no whiplash. "Why not? She's smart, isn't she?" goads Maura's future No. 1 fan even before she's met the girl.

"Very," answers Jane, "Annoyingly."

"Isn't she pretty?"

Jane pauses for a moment, editing her reply from '_Fuck yeah!_' to, "She's… alright… I guess. I don-"

"Is she Jewish? Cause I don't have anything against that, and neither should you."

"We've never really discussed religion, so, uh…"

"Is she straight? Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Angela places a comforting hand on her daughter's arm which is immediately shrugged off.

"She's definitely **not** straight," Jane almost laughs. "That much I **do** know. For **certain**." _Unless she's only into me when she's drunk_. "Well, kinda. I dunno."

"What's the problem then? Is she too much older than you or what?"

Sigh. _I wish_. "She's actually much too young. And I don't want to talk about her anymore."

Jane gets up off the bed once more.

"Janie."

"Angie."

"Y'know, I was 21 when I married your father. And he was 27," offers the mother.

Jane scoffs her derision. "That explains a lot then," is the sardonic reply. Then for a moment she wonders if cradle-snatching runs in the Rizzoli blood. Now she feels a hundred times worse.

With a withering look, Ma goes on, "My point is that sometimes love-"

Hold the phone. "It's a bit too early for the love speech, okay? I'm still processing the sex talk of it all. Pace yourself, Ma."

"Fine. My point is that I worry about you. I just want my family to be happy and healthy and-"

"Herpes-free. Got it."

"I was going to say honest."

Groans. "I _am_ being honest. You can even ask Frost. I was just helping her set up and then people started arriving and she… Look, I didn't want to drive drunk, so I slept over." There. That should do. Jane crosses her fingers.

"And did you forget you were grounded?"

Dammit. Forgot about that.

"No, I just- I wasn't thinking. At all. I wasn't thinking and now…"

"What, honey?"

Sigh. "Nothing."

"You're still grounded."

"Okay."

"And I still love you, Janie."

"I love you too, Ma. And I'm sorry I'm such a crappy daughter."

"Aww…"

"And this is where you say, _'No you're not a crappy daughter'_," she mimics her Ma's voice.

Angela makes a face and shakes her head no as she gets up off Jane's bed.

"Ma!"

"Uh-uh."

As soon as Jane is safely alone in her own bedroom, she locks the door and rushes over to scream into her pillow until she feels light-headed.

* * *

Before Jane knew it, it was too late.

"Oh my God, Maura! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Maura."

"Jane, I'm okay. I'm okay."

She was driving on her way to school when those oh-so-familiar honey-brown tresses beckoned her like a siren. Maura was crossing the road on her bike. Jane didn't realize she was approaching a pedestrian crossing when she got distracted. They collided.

Breathing heavily from the sprint she just took to get to the other girl's side, Jane asks, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," says the girl on the ground, smiling up at Jane. "But do you mind helping me up?"

Because you can't just sleep with a girl and then hit her with your car without feeling even just a tad remorseful, Jane not only helps her up, but she stuffs Maura's bike in the boot of the car and shoves her into the passenger seat.

The next thing she knows, Maura's saying things like, "Nice body work."

Hoot! Hoot!

It takes Jane a second to realize she hasn't put the car into drive yet and the car behind gives her the gentle nudge-wink-hint.

"Uh- what?" Jane's throat goes dry and she self-consciously tugs at her clothing.

Maura smirks to herself. Game on. "The body work on your car? It's very beautiful."

"Oh. Thanks," says the driver hoping Maura isn't feeling particularly chatty this Monday morning.

"Did you do it yourself?"

Jane steals a glance at her lab partner wondering how she can be so casual after the other night, but the question is harmless enough so she may as well be polite and answer, right? "Uh, no. I just worked on the engine. It took a while to get it up and running again."

Maura's eyebrow quirks mischievously. "Well then, you're certainly very good at getting things up and running."

Jane immediately hits the gas and puts some music on really loudly, even giving herself a headache. She doesn't even care that the radio station's playing some old Britney Spears song.

…_OOPS I DID IT AGAIN_

_I PLAYED WITH YOUR HEART_

_GOT LOST IN THE GAME_

_OH BABY BABY_

_OOPS YOU THINK I'M IN LOVE_

_THAT I'M SENT FROM ABOO-OO-OO-OOVE_

_I'M NOT_

_THAT_

_INNOCENT_

The hand on her thigh short circuits Jane's brain.

They're in the school parking lot now and Maura gives it a squeeze while turning the radio off.

"I suppose I should thank you?" she says.

Jane smiles awkwardly, gently pushing the warm hand off her lap and occupying herself with her seatbelt. "For what?"

"Giving me a ride."

Jane stops moving. If her mind wasn't in the gutter already, Maura's words were definitely flushing them down there.

The tap on her window almost stops Jane's heart.

"Frost!" Jane bolts out of her car. _How long was he out there?_

"Whoa there. Someone's happy to see me." Frost eyes his buddy suspiciously.

Laughing timidly, Jane pats him on the shoulder. "I gotta get to class."

"Class isn't even for another-" he checks his watch while Jane's retreating form disappears, "fifteen minutes," mumbles Frost to himself before a car door closing startles him.

"Maura?"

"Good morning, Barry." She smiles brightly as she moves closer. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Frost's own brain freezes at the sight of Maura in tight grey jeans, an olive green recycle-themed t-shirt and pink designer sneakers.

"Maura, you- wow."

Maura was hoping to get that type of reaction from Jane, but at least someone appreciates her effort. Or lack thereof.

"Thank you, Barry. Did you enjoy the rest of your weekend?"

"Uh, yeah. Great party, by the way. Hopefully the first of many." Frost can't get over how fun she was at her party and he's positive she is the full package kind of girl. Smart, pretty, funny and fun. It may be about time he made his move.

Thinking back to the fiasco of a weekend she's had, Maura shrugs, "Oh, I don't know. It was rather exhausting."

"I'll bet," he laughs before furrowing his brows in confusion. "Did you ride in with Jane?"

"Yes. She offered."

"She offered? That's odd."

As they make their way down the school hallway, heads turn. Some kids recognize Maura as the girl who threw the first biggest party of the year and they smile and wave.

"Yo, great party."

"Hi, Maura!"

"Maura! Sup?"

"It's the girl with the mansion, guys."

"Yo, ain't that Rizzoli's girl?"

The last comment puts Frost a little on edge. Note to self: talk to Jane.

Maura can't believe what a total one-eighty her persona did within the space of two days as she accepts a high-five from some random guy with a lip ring.

This must be what popularity feels like.

On the other end of the spectrum of happiness, Jane is thinking, '_This must be what it feels like to be on death row_'. I need to stay away from that girl.

_But during class…_

As Pike babbles on about instructions for their current class activity, Jane is trying to focus on keeping her hands steady with her lab partner unnecessarily guiding her hands from behind.

"Jane, your hands are shaking."

"I'm... cold," is the ridiculous reply. Rizzoli knows very well where that tingling up her spine is coming from. Here's a hint: Maura.

"Want me to warm you up?" she says in an almost-whisper as close to Jane's ear as her height allows.

Jane groans. "Are you seriously flirting over a dead frog?"

"When else am I going to do it?"

"Girls! Hands where I can see them," says Pike when he does his rounds.

Maura steps away with a small smirk on her face.

Jane's face is saying, "Shit."

_At lunch…_

Ma Rizzoli just had to introduce cannolis to the Monday menu. Now every dick within pissing distance is getting a hard-on from watching Maura Isles skillfully, and painfully slowly, (she's even got her eyes closed for Chrissakes!) eat her dessert.

"Don't you guys have better things to do?" growls Jane.

"Not really," retorts one of the drooling young men before his buddy slaps him out of it.

"Dude, you don't wanna mess with Rizzoli. _Or her girl…_"

Maura's eyes open at the sound of Jane's dangerous husk only to come face to face with the patented Rizzoli glare.

"And you. Could you not?"

Placing a delicate hand on her chest, Maura plays innocent, "Me? What have _I_ done wrong?"

"The way you're molesting that cannoli is all kinds of wrong."

With a devious smile, "Funny. I've had no prior complaints with my… technique."

Jane leaves the table. Maura bursts out into laughter and waves at Suzie on the other side of the cafeteria.

_After school…_

She's been trying to avoid her lab partner all day and Jane is worn out at best. She's even skipping basketball practice in case the girl is that dead-set on stalking her.

"I believe you took something from me."

Jane whips around from opening her car door to find Maura in all her Maura-ness, busy Maura-ing. Jane breaks down. "God, I knew it. You're a vir- You _were_ a v-"

"I was talking about my bike."

"Shit," Jane exclaims in frustration at feeling so on-edge. You'd think that after getting laid, she'd feel less wound up, right?

"Unless you want to give me another-"

"Say ride one more time, and I'll-"

"You'll what, Jane?" Maura steps closer in challenge. "Run away?"

Jane puts her fist in her mouth and screams while glaring at Maura. This is why she never hooks up with girls she can't completely erase from her life. They always come back.

But for some reason, this time she's compelled to treat Maura a little better than the rest. As if it'll make up for all the ones she's been a jerk to. Or maybe because Maura has the power to ruin her friendship with Frost. Either way, Jane's gonna have to tread carefully where this girl is concerned.

"Fine! Get in. I'll drive you home. But you better keep your hands to yourself this time."

"Deal," says Maura as she walks to the passenger side triumphantly. Before she gets in she amends, "I'll just use my mouth then." As in 'talking', but Jane doesn't need to know that, does she?

* * *

Tuesday.

Avoid Maura. Avoid Frost.

76% success

* * *

Wednesday.

Keep Maura's hands off my person. Avoid eye contact with Frost.

43% success

By the end of the third day, Jane is at the end of her rope. Time to call in the big guns.

"Yo, Cooper! You got a minute?"

"Literally," answers Jane's team-mate as she ogles some of the girls in the locker room after school.

"What, you crushin' on cheerleaders now?"

"Don't worry. The feeling is mutual this time."

Jane rolls her eyes as she changes into her practice gear. She lowers her voice, "Y'know, Rachel tried to talk me up the other day."

Looking more surprised than she should be, Riley says, "Really? Cause Amber did the same to me. And then we ended up going at it at your girlfriend's party." Riley grins rubbing her hands together cunningly.

"So _you're_ the one who defiled Maura's folk's bedroom?" Jane can't say she's surprised. Riley's worse than _she_ is with girls.

"That was her folks room? I thought it was hers when she walked in on us."

They laugh.

"Yeah. She mentioned that part."

"So… Rache, huh? You didn't take the bait?"

Jane doesn't mention Joey because that was just an excuse she fed Rachel. Though valid.

"My Ma just gave me the 'sex talk' a few days ago. I think I'm off sex for a while."

Riley slaps her knee laughing at her friend's embarrassment. What she would give to be a fly on the wall of the Rizzoli household.

"Shit, that's hilarious."

"Whatever, man. Y'know I don't mess with girls from around the school anyway," she shrugs a little defensively.

"Not usually," Riley says.

"Not ever," Jane counters.

"Not yet," Riley insists.

Sigh. "Actually…"

"I knew it!" Riley laughs. "Wait, no. Lemme guess?"

"No."

"C'mon, I like to guess, y'know that. Uh… the fedora girl?" Jane narrows her eyes at her. "Suzie Chang?" Riley winks. Jane rolls her eyes. Riley leans in and lowers her voice, smirking. "Frost's sister?"

"Shut up." Jane gets up off the bench and throws her towel inside her gym locker.

Touchy. Riley backs off and gets back on topic. "Relax, no one can hear us. Uh… So, Maura, huh?" Jane nods. "Nice, a rich girl. I'm sure she spells her last name with two dollar signs."

Jane shakes her head. "I was so drunk. So, so drunk."

"Uh-huh."

"She was too... I think... no, definitely."

"Mm…"

"God, I'm a rapist."

"Wait- what? You did what!" Riley had only been passively listening up until that point.

"No, not like that. I mean… She's fucking 15, Riley."

"Whoa." Cooper tries to think back to what Maura looks like. "You sure?"

"As sure as shit, man."

"Have you ever…"

"No. No way. You know I've always had a thing for College girls and just older women in general. But Maura just-"

"Just what?"

"Happened. I dunno how. _Yeah_, she was pretty hot that night, and _yeah_ she kinda told me she was attracted to me and _yeah_ we're both single and _yeah_ the bed was right there and _yeah_ she pretty much threw herself at me-"

"Sounds a lot like _my_ night."

"-but **15**? Oh yeah, and Frost likes her y'know."

Deal-breaker.

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah. He had dibs."

Double-deal-breaker.

"You really should stop making a habit of that. But I think you should tell him."

"What? No! What kinda advice is that?"

"Excuse me for not knowing the correct protocol when you've fucked your best-friend's dream girl while he was just downstairs, but the truth usually helps."

"Well, when you put it that way… But hey! You and Amber did the same thing to Gabriel Dean. He was at the party too."

"Oh, him."

"Yeah! **That** guy. Or did you forget Amber had a boyfriend?"

"He's just a beard, man. Amber's totally in love with me... And she's 18!"

"Shut. Up."

"What, she is."

"I get the point." Sigh.

"Let's just hope your nerd didn't fall head over heels for you and goes crazy."

"I don't think that'll be a problem. The first part. Not so sure about the second."

* * *

Thursday

Beat Maura off with a stick. Run away from Fr- Oh! He found me.

0% success

"Hey… buddy!" Jane chuckles nervously when she rounds a corner only to come face to face with a very pissed off friend of hers.

"You got something to tell me, Jane?" It didn't sound like a casual question at all.

"What? What gives you that idea? What have you heard?"

"Remember our bet?"

Gulp. "Yeah..."

"Well, guess who else is in on it?"

"No one. I haven't told anyone."

"I overheard the jocks placing bets on you, Jane."

"What? I hope you told them to mind their own fucking business."

"I was about to when I heard what they were betting on."

"Out with it already."

"They were betting on how long you'd last…"

"Yeah…"

"Before you hooked up with Maura."

"Frost, listen-"

"I'm listening!"

"Jeez, okay. Look, I dunno what those guys are on about. Maura's _your_ girl."

"Well, that's funny. The whole damn school seems to think she's _yours_. And I'm starting to see why."

"Frost, wait. I don't want Maura!"

"Oh, but _she_ wants you?"

"No! Nobody wants anybody!"

"Then why are you two spending so much time together? And the looks?"

"She's my tutor."

Frost pauses.

"Why didn't you just tell me then?"

"Because I didn't want you to act the way you are right now! I mean, cut me some slack here, man! I needed a tutor. She's my lab partner. It just happened."

Something wasn't adding up for Frost though. "When I left after her party, your car was still there."

"I passed out drunk. You know how I get."

Frost gives Jane the up and down. She isn't showing any of her classic signs of having gotten laid. His demeanor softens.

"Look, man, I'm sorry…"

Phew!

"Nah, forget it. I'm not mad."

"You should be. I'm acting like a maniac over some girl. And we aren't even dating yet."

"I understand. Girls can drive you crazy." Believe me, I know.

"Clearly. Man, I was about ready to punch you or something," he says with a shy smile.

Jane guffaws. "That's crazy."

"I'm serious." Jane sobers straight away. "But, uh, anyway… Is the tutoring helping?"

She hasn't had a tutor lesson since they did their project. "I dunno."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough, huh?"

What now? "Huh?"

"The test tomorrow?"

"Shit. I totally forgot. I gotta go."

"Hey, aren't you going to practice?"

"Shit." Jane won't be allowed to play at their first game if she misses any more practice, so it's a no-brainer. "Yeah, see you there."

* * *

On the other hand, Maura's been having a great week.

People have been coming up to talk to her. Complimenting her new casual style with a designer touch. And don't get her started on the fun she's been having at Jane's expense.

"… you should have seen her face!" Maura giggles. Gasp. "I know! That would be quite something… No, I couldn't… Well, that was before the cheerleaders came and talked to us… Suzie!" Another giggle as a loud knock sounds on her door. "Come in! Anyway, as you were saying…"

After a few moments of listening, Maura turns her head to the side to acknowledge whoever just entered her room. Her brain short circuits.

"Uh… uh… I have to go," she hangs up before she even finishes her sentence.

"Jeff let me come up."

"Jane."

* * *

_I'm not that innocent…_

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading, y'all! And I appreciate all reviews, good, bad and ugly, but luckily so far everyone with a concern has been incredibly polite about it. Don't worry. I got your back. And if you haven't, check out my short 1-shot **S&M**.


	14. Chapter 14: Cupid's Choke-Hold

**14. Cupid's Choke-Hold**

* * *

_Hey, slow it down_

_Whataya want from me?_

_Yeah, I'm afraid_

_Whataya want from me?_

* * *

"Jeff let me up." Jane's voice is low in that way it gets after a long day as she stands in front of the closed door in her gym clothes and a duffel bag slung around a strong shoulder.

"Jane," is Maura's breathless answer as she almost drops her phone at the sight of Jane, but moreover the look in Jane's eyes. Her black eyes.

* * *

_There might've been a time when I would give myself away_

_Oh, once upon a time, I didn't give a damn_

_But now, here we are_

_So whataya want from me?_

_Whataya want from me?_

* * *

Jane Rizzoli is what one might call single-minded. It manifests itself in the way she plays sports, the way she talks to girls, even the way she shops for clothing. When she sees something she wants, she goes and gets it. Not much in her life was ever handed to her, barring those Rizzoli genes, so that go-getting attitude is cemented in her character so firmly, at a cellular level, that she oftentimes disregards whether what she wants is even hers to take.

But for the first time she hesitates. This is her dilemma.

Also known as Maura.

Maura is wearing _her_ red plaid shirt again with the sleeves rolled up, and the way it hangs off her petite frame makes Jane's ears burn. And this time Maura has on the cutest little white shorts, barely peaking out from under the long shirt, and she flashes back to the way those legs felt under her hands as she caressed them that night. The girl's hair is in a messy, side-swept French-braid falling over her shoulder, and she's barefoot with pink nail polish on. Maura fucking Isles is so fucking adorable and kinda sexy but cute and hot all at once and it's so not what Jane needs right now. At all.

It's what she **wants**.

Jane wants Maura right now.

But she hesitates, and it drains all the energy she had left, to not act.

After watching the internal battle waging in her lab partner's mind, Maura tilts her head in scrutiny. "You look tired," she says.

Jane gestures at the other girl before lamely putting her hand back down. "You look… like you're wearing my clothes."

"They've grown on me," the younger lightly smiles with a shrug. Jane drops her bag.

The athlete thought she'd be able to just get there and study, but being in _that_ room with _that_ girl in _that_ shirt and _that_ smile and that _everything_… Is this what it feels like just before spontaneous combustion?

Maura catches Jane staring at her again, intensely, and the air grows thicker around them.

"I wanna kill myself. What's the best way?"

Jane's words startle Maura, but her reflexes kick in before she can stop herself.

"Uh, atlanto-occipital disarticulation is very fast."

Not missing a beat, "No idea what that is. What else you got?" she asks bending over to unzip her bag.

Maura eyes Jane's movements closely, not sure what is going on in that head of hers. "You came here to attempt suicide?"

"I guess you could say that." Jane pulls out a text book, to Maura's relief. "I came to study… the day before a Biology test. I'd say I've already shot myself in the foot with that alone."

Maura sighs, having imagined Jane was either really suicidal or found out about her teasing tactics and came for revenge. Although, a few moments ago she was pretty sure the tall, tanned Italian was about ready to rip her clothes off. Or was she projecting again?

"Would you like to use my shower first?"

Jane scoffs before rebelliously settling on the floor against Maura's bed. "No, thank you. You can sit as far away from me as you like if I stink that bad, but my clothes are staying on. _All_ of them."

Eye-roll. "Bad_ly_." Maura sits flat-footed beside Jane with her knees bent.

"I hate it when you correct me," groans Rizzoli looking for the relevant page.

"Well I hate it when you forget about Mr. Adverb," sing-songs Isles. "And, you're being ridiculous. I'm more worried about your own comfort."

"I'm fine," declares Jane as she flips a page but not looking down at it. "I'm grrreat."

"You just told me you want to kill yourself. That hardly qualifies as positive, let alone _grrreat_." Maura teases.

"Well excuse me for feeling a little awkward about being back at the scene of the crime." Jane mumbles.

"Oh," a manicured brow quirks, "and what crime would that be?" Maura asks curiously.

"You know exactly what I mean, and I don't really wanna talk about it right now."

Jane shuts the book and gets up and away from Maura, but Maura follows her out to the balcony. She refuses to be ignored again, and Jane has been avoiding her all week. Her face is unsympathetic as she watches Jane struggle to light a cigarette.

"Firstly, I don't," says the shorter girl, crossing her arms defensively, "and secondly, why am I not surprised?"

Taking a long first drag of her cancer stick, Jane looks out over the Isles estate. Never in a million years did she ever think she'd set foot in a mansion, let alone regularly, but this is the first time she's ever really looked outside at the view. It's really beautiful and it seems to go on forever. Kinda like Maura's eyes…

Jane shakes her head at herself. She hasn't been able to stop thinking about these weird little details about Maura like her eyes, or her skin, or her voice - stupid shit like that - and it's really starting mess with her head somehow. Focus. Time to rip the band-aid off.

"Look, Maura, I'm sorry if that night meant more to you than it does to me, but it's never gonna happen again."

Maura looks down at her feet with narrowed eyes, trying to not be hurt by Jane's promise. She isn't sure whether Jane means she regrets the entire night of her birthday party, or just the part where they (almost) had sexual intercourse, but it still hurts because that night was the best night of her life. She felt a little closer to Jane somehow, but maybe it was a fluke. Otherwise why else would Jane say such things. "What makes you think it meant anything at all? _You're_ the one who wants to commit suicide," Maura almost spits out.

"Because of the way you've been acting all week. I just want everything back to normal."

"Biting each other's heads off every time we're in the same room is normal to you? Did you enjoy tormenting me?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that- I just-" Jane sighs in frustration, stumbling over words and feelings. This was usually way easier over the phone because she could hang up. And she didn't have to see the look on the girl's face. She can barely look at Maura right now because she's not that good at hiding how hurt she is. And Jane did that to her. "I'm being a jerk," Jane admits. "And that's why none of this should have happened. And it never will."

"Well, I object."

Jane finally turns to regard Maura with an amused but shocked look. She's giving Maura every ounce of compassion she has, but she's just not having it. What now?

"You object? This isn't a court, or a democracy. We made a deal. I made you popular, now let's go study."

Cigarette forgotten in her hand, Jane moves towards the bedroom but a hand on her chest stops her dead in her tracks, and for a moment she wonders if Maura can feel the heavy thud of her rapid heartbeat.

"So we're really not even going to talk about it?" Maura is livid at this point.

"There's nothing to talk about!" shouts Jane, at the end of her patience.

"If those walls could talk-"

"They can't! And if they could, it would be the alcohol talking because everything that happened that night was a drunken mistake."

Maura pushes against Jane's chest and raises her voice in a fit of rage. "A- a mistake?"

Jane isn't so much as stunned by the shove as she stays in place. "What else would you call it?"

"Oh, so now you care what I have to say? You know, Jane, I thought we'd moved past this hostility when you… confided in me."

Maura's eyes search Jane's, looking for the regret her words are expressing. How much of that night was alcohol-induced? And how much of it was real? Because even now, as sober as they are, Maura wouldn't take anything back. But Jane fails to meet her eyes and steps back, letting Maura's hand slide away with the self-imposed physical distance.

"I was drunk during that part too, but this isn't about you being rich, Maura." Jane's voice is soft now, but her words are measured and clear. "This is about the fact that we should have never gotten that close." Her voice falters a bit on that last word, but she tries to cover by quickly adding, "And y'know what? I don't mind taking all the blame. It's all my fault."

With a sigh, "No one is at fault."

"Easy for you to say. You're the minor. Well, you're more of a minor than I am anyway."

"I'll be in my in my third year of College by the time I'm 18. At the very least. My age is hardly relevant to my mental and emotional maturity, Jane. And I'm not going to have you arrested for sleeping with me."

Jane looks unsure, "That's comforting. Three weeks ago you couldn't stand my guts."

"Three weeks ago I couldn't stand a lot of things. I'm not the same person I was three weeks ago."

"No, I guess not."

"And neither are you."

_I'm not even the same person I was a minute ago_, muses Jane. Ever since Maura stumbled into her life, nothing has been the same. Even this conversation is a lot more involved than she's used to. Too many thoughts and feelings and questions and answers and reasons and excuses. It's just too much.

Yet not enough somehow, because something keeps making her lips move and things to spill out. Some unknown force. Some kind of attraction to Maura that isn't just physical. But she can't pretend the physical part isn't there.

Jane finds Maura's eyes, which look away as soon as Jane takes a step forward. "Okay, I admit it. I'm attracted to you. Drunk and sober."

Hazel darts to chocolate. "That's hardly a surprise, Jane. Surprise me."

Jane chuckles at the challenge. "Wanna know what I thought the first time I met you?"

Maura recrosses her arms, guarding herself from the insults that she is sure are to come. "In detention?"

"Before that."

"In the hallway? We hardly-"

A deep husky laugh cuts Maura off.

"You don't even know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Who do you think carried you in after you fainted?"

Confusion turns to realization. Maura mouth hangs open in amazement. "That- that was you?"

"Yeah," is the simple and smug reply. "Before you ever said a word, before you ever saw me, before any of this, I carried you in arms, and you know what's the first thing I thought in my head? Hm?"

Maura's mind spins as she remembers one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life. The day she fainted from the stress of her first day at school. The memory of the scared little girl she was three weeks ago comes back full force and, for a brief moment, it's almost as if she's back in that terrifying moment. Is this why Jane was so mean to her at first? Because she thought Maura was… "_Gelata crura_?" she whispers.

"Are we even having the same conversation here?" deadpans Jane, "No, I thought, 'Wow. I wonder what color her eyes are'."

"Really?" Maura asks uncertain if this is a joke.

"Corny, right?" smirks Jane, but not in that cocky way she usually does. It's almost shy and Maura scrutinizes her, catching another glimpse of this deceptively complex girl.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with her admission, Jane sighs exaggeratedly before continuing, "And then we actually talked and I thought, 'Maybe she's crazy'. And then we talked some more and I thought, 'Yep, mad as a hatter'."

Maura rolls her eyes playfully, catching Jane's teasing tone. "I thought you found me cute."

She scratches the back of her neck, "That was before we ended up in bed. And you know what my first thought after that was? Frost."

"Barry?"

Jane nods and they share a loud silence filled with questioning eyes. Jane is trying her hardest to say the right things, and for once it's for the right reasons.

"I'm sure you're a nice girl, Maura, but just in case you haven't noticed, the boy's head over heels for you."

"I had a feeling about that."

"You knew he liked you but you're still coming after me?"

"I'm hardly coming after you, I was just having some fun. You had no problem with it before Monday. And as for Barry, I didn't want to assume, but he _was_ exhibiting all the classic signs of attraction." _As were you_, she refrains.

Jane nods to herself quietly for a moment. "Lemme guess, you don't feel the same about him."

Hesitating to say an outright 'No', Maura tries to **euphemize** the truth, "Barry's a very nice guy-"

"Great then! You're a nice girl, he's a nice guy, you'll make a nice couple."

"I'm not going to date him just because you feel guilty. Besides, I don't want a relationship right now."

As if a low blow has just been dealt to her, Jane moans in agony and turns around to support herself against the balcony rail. "Great. Just great. That's the best thing any girl has ever said, but I can't do anything about it because…"

"Because you're celibate?"

Jane gives Maura a look as if she's being random again. "Because... I've hurt Frost enough for a lifetime."

Maura is struggling enough as it is to keep up with this conversation, and then Jane says _that_. "What do you mean?"

"Y'know your pal Suzie?"

"What about her?"

"Well," Jane flicks the ash off her cigarette and inhales, her reply accompanied by a small cloud of smoke. "Frost used to have a crush on her too. Long story short, about a year or so back, we were all at a party, we were all drunk, and me and Suzie spent 10 minutes in Heaven. Frost wouldn't even look at me for weeks, let alone talk."

Maura actually coughs in astonishment, unable to get the words out on her first attempt. She tries again. "Y-you and Suzie?"

Jane nods and then shakes her head.

"It meant nothing to me, or Chang I think, but it meant something to _him_, so I don't want a repeat of that. I won't let this," she points between the two of them, "ruin my friendship with him, Maura."

Maura frowns in understanding and frustration. Things are starting to make a little more sense about Jane's hold and cold behavior.

"I would hate to get in the middle of your friendship with Barry, but wouldn't he be understanding of our mutual attraction?"

Jane scoffs, creating a cloud of smoke from her last puff. "He'd punch me."

"I thought you said he's a nice guy. And I'm not even his girlfriend."

"But he called dibs!" Jane reasons.

"I resent that. I am not property."

"Dibs in a _romantic_ way, promise."

"Frankly, I don't care. He's very sweet but all I want is his friendship."

Jane stares down at Maura through half-lidded eyes and a faint smirk.

"Oh, so what do you want from me then?" she husks.

Maura smiles thoughtfully for a few long moments, biting her bottom lip. With a soft sigh, she turns around and re-enters her bedroom, leaving Jane in suspense. The athlete flicks her cigarette bud over the balcony and quickly follows her in just in time to hear Maura's answer.

"Nothing."

Jane stills. "Nothing?"

Settling back down on the floor, she takes Jane's textbook and flips through it lazily. "I thought you'd sound more relieved."

"I am, but let's be honest here. You haven't been acting like you want nothing from me," says Jane, sitting next to her.

With an eyebrow quirk, "And what if I **did** want something from you?"

"Like what?" Jane shrugs.

"More than friendship."

Their gazes meet. Jane licks her lips and swallows dryly.

"Do you or don't you?"

"Do _you_?"

"That's a question, not an answer."

"No, I suppose not... Anyway, you held up your end of the bargain. People noticed me for the first time in my life. Now it's my turn. So let's study."

"What, just like that?"

"You have exactly 16 hours to prepare for tomorrow's test. Would you prefer to continue going around in circles about us," or the lack thereof, "or be more productive?"

Jane rolls her eyes, getting frustrated with this deflection, but at least Maura seems to understand. "I came here to study, but also to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For using you. Having sex with you and then running away."

"Jane, we may have slept together, but we didn't have sex."

"What!" she exclaims.

"What?"

"Whataya mean, what? We didn't have sex?!"

"Of course not," smiles Maura. Her imagination had nothing on the real-life reaction she thought her lab partner would have at the revelation of the full truth, but Jane has shared a lot already. Tit for tat.

"You and I did not have sex! Oh my God! Are you sure?"

"Of course I am."

"I mean, you were kind of a tequila mockingbird there, so maybe..."

"That isn't something that would slip my mind. I would know."

"You haven't fainted yet so… wow. And there was no distinct smell of sex the next morning… Not even just a little-?"

Jane makes crude hand gestures.

"We didn't even kiss."

"Oh yeah, that's right."

Phew! Bullet dodged. Big time.

Plus, Jane would have hated to have had that happen and then not remember it.

"You seem pleased with yourself."

"I am. For once, I'm actually happy about not getting laid." Jane laughs.

"I thought you were celibate."

"I said I was something _like_ that. And to be honest, you weren't supposed to believe me."

Maura can't help but smile and roll her eyes. They study for the rest of the night until Jane has to leave.

Every once in a while Jane asks Maura to clarify once more that they did not have sexual relations of any kind.

* * *

Maura Isles is a very open-minded person. Not just in the sense that her brain is like sponge that absorbs everything around her, but also in the sense that she understands that human beings are all not the same. This fact makes her life more difficult since she struggles with people sometimes, most times, but the rest of the time it clears her head of any expectations so she can listen better without judgment or interrupting.

So she surprised herself when, come Friday morning, she stormed down the hallway to find and interrogate Suzie Chang. "Were you using me to get revenge on Jane?"

Seemingly expecting such a reaction from her, the Chang only excuses herself from her other friends and drags Maura into the girls' bathroom.

"Good morning to you too, Maura," she says sarcastically, making Maura feel a little embarrassed and rude.

"Good morning, Suzie. How are you?"

"Can't complain, and yourself?"

"I'm a little confused."

"Oh, really? This wouldn't happen to be about Jane would it?"

"In fact, it is."

"So she told you about our very brief history?"

"You spent ten minutes in heaven together, if I recall correctly."

"You have no idea what that means, do you?"

"I was hoping you would explain that to me. As well as why you failed to mention it to me yourself. I thought we were friends. Was I wrong?"

"Whoa, no. Of course we're friends. Jane and I kissed. That's it. Did I enjoy it? Heck yeah! Am I gonna pine over her like some love-sick puppy? No. I wasn't using you as some pawn in a ploy against Jane Rizzoli. Is that what she thinks?"

"No. She was just really upset at the thought that she may have betrayed Barry."

"And what does Frost have to do with anything?"

"Apparently, he and Jane didn't talk for a long time after she kissed you. Because he had a crush on you and now he has a crush on me so…"

"Shut the front door! Frost had a crush on me? **I** have a crush on him!"

"Really? Then you should tell him."

"Yeah, like the way you told Jane, right? Besides, he's into you now so…"

"I don't have a crush on Jane. I simply find her physically attractive-"

"And you think it's sweet that she cares about her best-friend's feelings so much, right?"

"She's a good friend when she's sober. But she and I are strictly classmates."

"For now… So you want me to confess my undying like for Frost so Jane won't feel guilty about kissing you?"

"Suzie. If you like Barry, you should tell him. Whatever does or does not happen between Jane and I is irrelevant."

"You're really mature for your age y'know that?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Good then. Remember when I told you to be careful with Jane, the first time we met?"

"Yes."

"Well, don't forget. I know you're in denial right now, and that's okay, but the moment you find yourself on the edge of falling, turn the other way and run."

* * *

**A/N:** _Whataya Want From Me_ by ADAM LAMBERT. I'll fix this chapter later, but I just had to get it **out**. The slow burn is killing me more than you guys realize. I wish they'd just kiss already, y'know? But thanks so much for reading, and check out **Be Kind, Rewind** if grown-up Angst is also your thing. I'm trying it out.


	15. Chapter 15: Please Lemme Get What I Want

**15. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want**

* * *

'_Honey…_

_Smooth,_

_Hazel._

_What do you want from me?_

_Want-_

_Kiss me!_

_Nothing._

_I want…_

_Honey_

_Hair_

_No?_

_Smooth_

_Skin_

_Don't?_

_Hazel_

_What I want?_

_More…_

_More-_

_Maur.'_

* * *

Jane hadn't gotten much sleep the night before after getting home from Maura's. They'd gone at it for hours, only stopping a few times to refresh with a smoke or a snack…

"_Cheese crackers and skim milk? Who does your grocery shopping, Victoria Beckham?"_

_Finally understanding a pop culture reference due to her love of fashion, Maura laughed. "Protein-rich meals and snacks keep your energy on an even keel, which is great for such long study sessions. But if you'd prefer something else, we have nuts, raisins, low-fat yoghurt, fresh fruit, caffeine-free herbal tea, protein bars-"_

"_Nope, no thanks. This is fine."_

…and Maura was very patient with answering all of Jane's questions and trying to 'dumb it down' for the jock.

"_In English please," Jane would grumble, "Or at least Americanese."_

"_It's the, uhm, icky gooey stuff that comes out of your-"_

"_Got it! Thanks."_

And after tiredly driving home, Jane took a long shower and burnt the midnight oil studying some more, eventually falling asleep drooling all over her textbook.

So come Friday morning, Angela didn't even have the heart to wake her up like she normally does, opting to rather gently coax Jane out of her slumber with the smell of instant coffee.

"Mm…" is Jane's first sound of the day. We're off to a good start.

"Ja-nie…" sing-songs the scratchy voice of her Ma while soothingly rubbing circles on her back.

"Mm… coffee…" Jane manages to whisper on an exhale, eyes still firmly shut. She's probably still stuck somewhere between reality and unicorn-land, or whatever Jane Rizzoli dreams about, so Angela gives her a minute.

"Mm… so sexy… in my shirt…"

"Huh?" Angela's eyebrows join her hairline. "Wake up, Janie," she says a little louder, hurriedly patting her daughter's back.

Jane startles out of her dream with a gasping snort kind of noise. She grunts with the attempt to push up on her forearms, unsticking page seventy from her face, but then promptly drops back down. "Just fi… mmore… mints…" is her slow, lethargic appeal.

A sleepy Jane is one of Angela's favorite Janes but she's already running late. "Breakfast is ready. I made bunny pancakes…"

And those were the magic words.

1 cold shower, 3 cups of coffee, 12 pancakes and 48 minutes later, Jane gets to school painfully alert. She even has her hair in a tight ponytail which means she means business. _Eye of the Tiger_ may as well be playing in the background. Her single-minded goal for the day is to nail that test like a MC hammer. She swaggers down the hallway with figurative blinders on, not seeing or hearing anything until she catches a glimpse of very familiar sun-kissed honey-brunette locks up ahead.

Jane's step falters.

Maura and Suzie walk out of the girls' bathroom apparently in a good mood. They haven't even taken more than five steps before they're accosted by a wu-tang of the popular clan. Rachel on Joey Grant's arm. Amber on Gabriel Dean's. Then Giovanni.

Jane gulps.

She sees Maura dart a glance at an eye-rolling Suzie before turning back to smile politely at whatever those lugs are saying to them, but you don't even need super-hearing or lip-reading talents to guess that Giovanni's just called something 'hawt'. Or maybe some_one_, because Maura's blushing now.

Jane's face says, "What the fuck?"

A clearly bored Suzie Chang, not paying any attention to the chatty chumps, notices Jane's reaction and subtly nudges her friend.

Maura ignores her a few times until she feels a pinch to her butt. She squeals. Suzie tilts her head in Jane's direction and the athlete averts her eyes and storms into the girls' bathroom.

As soon as the door closes behind her, Jane braces herself against one of the sinks and lets out a long breath. In. Hold. Out. What the hell was _that_? Her heart is doing zumba in her chest and she just feels angry all of a sudden. For no reason. And where the hell did she ever hear anyone say zumba?

"Jane, are you okay?"

She'd know that voice anywhere now. She heard it talk almost all night last night, even in her dreams. She's heard that voice shout at her angrily. Laugh at a stupid joke of hers. _Flirt_… Drone on about… sometimes she just listened without hearing. Mesmerized. Fuck.

"I'm fine," she grinds out, not looking up from the tap in front of her.

Maura steps closer, stopping less than a foot away.

A light touch captures Jane's bicep. She almost flinches, but instead looks at the other girl through the mirror.

"Good morning, Jane," smiles the honey-brunette, and Jane forgets her own name.

"Hey," she says back, surprised at her own reaction, though half a smile creeps easily on her face while Maura's hand stays where it is.

Maura's smile turns into concern. "You have darkening around the periorbital-" Jane cuts her off.

"Isn't it a bit early for a diagnosis?"

"It's just, you look like you haven't gotten much sleep."

"Stayed up studying," says Jane, suddenly looking everywhere but at Maura or her reflection, who picked the worst day ever to show up to school in a mini-skirt. She was up studying, yes, but her thoughts had a mind of their own. Jane distractedly wonders what her goal for the day was again.

"Sleep is important, Jane," Maura admonishes.

"I know," she shrugs, "I had maybe 3 good hours of it." _Dreaming of you_… "So don't Googlemouth or I'll fall back asleep."

Maura playfully smacks Jane on the arm. "You weren't complaining last night," she says with the quirk of a brow.

Jane clears her throat, but doesn't answer.

"Don't worry, I mean that the way it sounds. I'm not… coming after you. Any more." Maura voice drops off at the end.

Jane quickly covers up her forlorn look before turning to face Maura and says, "..." nothing. Because really, what do you say when _that_ girl stares at you with _those_ eyes. Biting _that_ lip. Telling you that you can look all you want, but don't touch. You've missed your chance.

* * *

_What would you do if I kissed you?_

_What would you do, if I held your hand, and laid you down_

_Would you find me overly familiar towards you?_

_Would you call me insensitive and say that I deserve to die?_

_What do I do, with all these feelings_

_Tearing me up inside_

_What do I do, with all these wasted hours_

_Dreaming of you at night…_

* * *

Maura huffs in annoyance. "Don't you see how ridiculous this is, Jane?"

Since they had that conversation yesterday, they both haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Jane basically told Maura that 'Yes, I would like to shove my tongue down your throat but even though you wouldn't mind either, my best-friend is into you and friendship trumps attraction so you should be his girlfriend and I'll pretend we're not having eye-sex every time we see each other so he'll keep talking to me'.

And as noble as that is, in its own Jane way, her words were at war with her actions.

Even while studying, there would be moments when one stole a glance at the other, only to be caught when the other tried the same thing, and then they'd clear their throats awkwardly or smile shyly, until eventually it became part of the process. The privacy of Maura's room allowed them to feel a little more comfort with testing the boundaries. As if the conversation had never happened.

Maura slept soundly, dreaming of olive skin and husky laughter and chocolate orbs. But that conversation came back to her and it drove her crazy to think she'd never know. What it felt like. Tasted like. So she took it out on Suzie and thought she felt better until she saw Jane again.

Jane stands up straight and scratches the back of her neck. "A little, yeah, but-" She sighs and starts pacing. "Maybe," Jane crouches checking under all the stalls, "maybe we-" When she faces Maura again, her head is tilted with an appraising smile. "Maura, when we're at school, you can't keep looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like… you've seen me naked!"

"I don't see how that's possible since I haven't."

"Then stop undressing me with your eyes!"

"I could say the same to you, but I actually don't mind."

The bell rings but neither move to leave. Jane continues her pacing.

"Jesus, I thought we talked about this and you understood."

"I understand completely, but it's still ridiculous. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, Jane."

"Maur-"

"Tell me you haven't thought about it."

"Thought about what?"

"Kissing me."

"Are you kidding me?" Jane's eyes are saying all Maura needs to understand.

"Then do it already! I mean, my goodness Jane! I'm usually one to take a hint, but this thing is consuming. And I'm not one to make assumptions but I know for a fact that it won't stop unless we do something about it."

"What if someone walks in and sees us?"

Maura sighs in relief. It's not a no. It must be yes.

"Nobody can see us _now_."

Jane's mouth hangs slightly open as her eyes follow Maura slowly walking over to stand in front of her. A small, delicate hand runs up from Jane's wrist, up her arm only stopping to squeeze a tensed bicep, then further on to encase Jane's shoulder.

Jane doesn't move. She can barely breathe.

Tilting her head with a smirk, Maura does the same with her other hand until she's gently kneading tense shoulders. Jane manages to stay quiet until those hands meet up behind her neck, bringing their bodies flush against each other. She inhales sharply.

Maura sighs, her curves pressing into Jane's, their eyes locked. Jane's fingers twitch, but she doesn't touch.

Then Jane speaks, low and gravelly. Maura feels her words rumble through their connected bodies more than she hears them. "Maura," she warns.

"Don't be so nervous," Maura says softly.

"I'm not," says Jane with equal parts defensiveness and suspicion.

"You're tense."

"You're in my personal space."

"Then push me away."

Jane closes her eyes, shaking her head. When she opens them again, brown has turned to black.

Maura's breath is a caress against her chin. "What if we don't tell anyone? I mean, if we explore… this attraction… behind closed doors."

"You mean like-"

"We don't have to label it."

"But you mean like friends with benefits?"

"Are we friends, Jane?"

"I don't want to be your friend."

"Good."

"I don't want a girlfriend either."

"I'm not offering."

"What about Frost?"

"Don't worry about him."

"He's my best friend."

"If he wasn't?"

Jane swallows visibly. The pulse in her neck throbbing openly.

"He's the only thing standing between _this_."

"At least go out with him. Once."

"If I say yes, will you shut up and kiss me?"

"Okay… But things are a little more complicated than that."

"My lips against yours. Sound simple enough?"

Maura's eyes drop to Jane's lips before she pushes herself up on her toes. Pulling Jane down to meet her halfway as she cranes her neck upwards. Closer and closer still, they each lick their lips in preparation.

Two pairs of wide eyes whip towards the sound of someone bursting in through the door.

Two pairs of lips part with a wet smack at the sight of an audience.

"Shit," mumbles Amber as she quickly removes herself from Riley and wipes her smudged lip gloss with the back of her hand.

Jane removes Maura's arms from around her neck and storms out of the bathroom with an amused Riley calling after her. "Rizz, c'mon? We don't mind sharing." she laughs.

Amber leaves next, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Maura and Riley look at each other awkwardly for a moment before Riley speaks up. "So… you and Rizz, huh?"

Maura walks out mumbling. "I'm working on it."

* * *

Dr. Pike sits at his desk with a self-satisfied look on his face. He spent quite a while drawing up the test, and if anyone gets an A, he'll be damned.

"Before we start, please hand in your partnered projects," he announces.

A collective groan of different variations of, "Oh shit, I forgot," is murmured throughout the classroom.

Jane's heart stops and she looks at Maura with a raised eyebrow. Maura simply smiles and puts a hand on Jane's arm, squeezing. "Relax." She goes up to the front of the class along with a few others including Frost and Suzie.

"Only half the class?" sneers Pike. "Thank you for making my weekend so much easier. Minus ten percent per day late. Now, sit down, pens out and mouths shut."

The girls share a look.

Maura mouths "Good luck" but Jane gives a curt nod and quickly turns away to start writing.

* * *

A note arrives on Maura's desk.

She looks around at the class pretending to do schoolwork during study hall in Ms. Frisby's class, but they aren't fooling anyone. Jane's sitting at the back, faintly bobbing her head with the music in her ears so it can't be from her. Unless she's trying to be discreet.

_Oh my_. _Maybe she wants to do it. Maybe she's decided we should be friends with- well, lab partners with profit. No, that doesn't sound right. Lab partners with reimbursement. That can't be right either. But who cares about labels right now?_

Maura looks around one more time, noting that the teacher is engrossed in something on her laptop, and opens the note in her lap.

**Hey Maura**

**Will you be my girlfriend?**

**Yes**

**No**

**Barry Frost**

Maura stares at the note in her lap for what feels like an hour to a shy guy putting his heart on the line, but when he realizes the note has already been sent back, Frost gulps.

Maura watches Frost's reaction when he realizes none of the one-word answers have been circled. His eyes dart over to her and he cautiously flips it over.

**I think you meant to ask me out first.**

A sigh of relief gives way to a mammoth-sized grin that takes residence on Barry's handsome face, and his light brown eyes sparkle in excitement. He quickly writes out his reply and literally throws it straight into Maura's lap. _Wow, he must be really good at basketball_, she muses.

**Wanna go watch Jane's game with me?**

**Tonight?**

**It's here at school but I can drive you home.**

Maura was aware that Jane is an athlete in some sport, but this is the first she's heard of her playing in any games. How did that not come up in conversation? She shakes the thought out of her head. Frost sees this and his face drops reading the gesture as hesitation on her part.

But then she turns to look at him with a smile. Nodding.

His triumphant air-punch catches Jane's attention. Actually, she's been watching the back-and-forth since he threw a piece of paper at Maura.

Judging by the look on his face, he got what he wanted.

Jane looks over at Maura, who mouths "Happy now?"

Jane's shoulders sag at the realization that, no, she isn't.

But it isn't until much later on, after avoiding everyone for the rest of the day, and only after she's already kitted out and at the middle of the court, poised and ready for the game-starting jump ball, that Jane Rizzoli realizes Maura Isles is in the stands. Watching.

"What the Hell, Rizz?" Riley smacks her butt when the other team scores at her expense.

Jane snaps back into the game. Her single-minded goal is to crush the competition.

But Maura's right _there_ and-

Game. Focus.

Riley passes from half-court to Jane on the 3-point line, who clumsily lets the ball bounce off her fingertips before holding on with both hands on her second attempt. Her body goes into autopilot mode.

Immediately she's double-teamed.

The shot clock winds down from twenty to fifteen to ten seconds as they smother her.

She lets them.

It's part of the play.

She fakes right, then left, and then left again. Riley screens superbly, letting Jane slip past at lightning speed with those long legs. She only dribbles once before she's flying.

Slam dunk.

The home crowd roars for their first points of the game as Jane jumps down with a thud and a primal growl aimed at her opponents. Game on.

All the way from the stands, Maura holds a hand to her chest, fearing her heart will beat right out of it.

Four quarters later, the scoreboard is heavily lopsided and the ladies' basketball team of Boondocks High is on a winning high. The locker room is abuzz with chatter and excitement.

"Rizzoli!" exclaims one of her team-mates. "What do you even _call_ that last one? A double-slam dunk?"

"You were just showing off, weren't you?" teases another, causing everyone to chuckle as they discard their home game uniform.

"Yeah, maybe just a little," shrugs the woman of the match, sans her top.

They all laugh out loud at their star player's cockiness, knowing very well she's just kidding around with them.

"But in all seriousness, girls," she goes on earnestly, "We did good out there. All of us. Cooper, you can pass from anywhere and through anything."

"Remember just before half-time when she passed from one basket to the other like nobody's business?"

"Then Rizzo scored it **on** the buzzer!"

"Backwards!"

"One-handed!"

"I don't think she was even looking that time."

"Yeah, come to think of it, your eyes were on the stands the whole time. Who were you looking at?"

All ready for her shower, Jane just shrugs and says, "No one," swaggering away.

Riley walks up beside her and pats her on the shoulder. Jane turns to find a huge grin. "If that's what was making you play like an NBA All-Star tonight," she says quietly enough, "you can look at no one _all_ you like, buddy."

Jane just shakes her head, laughing.

"And I promise to try and not interrupt next time you're busy macking of that very same no one," she winks.

Rizzoli rolls her eyes and hits the showers.

* * *

Jane meets her mother and brothers outside the school gym. She's exhausted and about ready to go home and pig out before passing out in a food coma. It's been a long week, especially today. The weekend really couldn't have come at a better time.

"Too bad the scouts weren't there today. You were so good, Janie," coos a proud mother.

"Thanks, Ma. Can we go have pizza now? I'm starving." She rubs her stomach. It growls back.

"Of course, sweetie, but don't you wanna invite your friends along too?"

"Uh…" Jane glances around and her eyes settle on Frost and Maura down the hall talking animatedly, laughing. Bittersweet. "I'm sure they've got better things to do."

"Better than celebrating your first victory? Nonsense. Ba-rry!"

Jane groans into her hand. _Gosh, Ma, sometimes_…

"Well, if it isn't Larry Bird himself," beams the best friend a gal could imagine. He's so happy.

"Thanks for staying, man," she smiles back trying not to look guilty.

"Are you **kidding** me? And miss **_that_**? At the risk of giving you a bigger head than you already have, you killed it."

He initiates their secret hand-shake.

"Thanks. Ma's taking us out for pizza. Wanna come?"

Frost turns towards Maura who's been shyly mute for some reason.

"Oh, uh," his face is unsure, "I'm supposed to drive Maura home."

"Bring her along," interjects Ma Rizzoli who's been eying the girl the whole time. "I'm sure she's hungry too, aren't you, sweetie?"

Surprised by the older lady's warmth and invitation, Maura answers _her_, but looks at Jane. "I could eat."

"Well, I guess the least I could do is actually feed my date," says Frost sheepishly.

Jane's mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water as Angela gushes over how sweet young love is.

* * *

"A date, huh?"

Jane excused herself to the pizzeria's bathroom shortly after Maura did. She isn't sure if she's angry or annoyed or relieved and grateful. Or all of the above.

Maura finishes re-applying her lip gloss in the large mirror before she lets a faint smile across.

"Yes. And I'm actually enjoying it." _The game was riveting._

"Right," Jane rolls her eyes before catching herself. "I mean, of course. He's very…"

"Attentive?" Maura holds her mascara brush up to her eyelashes.

"Yeah. Attentive." _Taking a girl to a high school basketball game and pizza for a first date. Real attentive._

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Did you not see that shit-eating grin on his face? Of course I want that for him."

"Language, Jane," admonishes Maura, switching eyes. "And that isn't what I asked."

Jane ignores that last comment and rests her hip against the sink, arms folded.

"I just can't believe you actually did it." _And that it happened so soon._

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," Maura informs, putting her things back into her little bag. She doesn't need to look at Jane to know what her face is doing. "And I talked him down to a date. It wasn't torture, we're good friends." Maura finally turns around to look Jane in the eye. "But I won't lead him on any longer."

Jane nods to herself.

Maura tilts her head. "So, now what?"

* * *

_What would you do if I kissed you?_

_What would you do, if I held your hand, and laid you down_

_Would you recognize, it's a need I've been fighting for so long?_

_Would you recognize, it's a hunger only you can fill?_

_What do I do, with all these feelings_

_Warming me up inside_

_What do I do, with all these precious hours_

_Dreaming of you at night…_

* * *

Jane clears her throat, stalling. She thinks about deflecting and asking why Maura's fixing her make-up so late, but who is she kidding? Jane is so not complaining. "_Now_… I-"

"Wrong." Maura interrupts. "Now… _we_…" she corrects, letting Jane fill the blanks.

"Now, we, uh- Shit, I dunno."

"Language. And I don't believe you."

"Then **you** finish the sentence."

"Technically I'm still on a date, so out of respect for him, you can finish that sentence yourself. Just come to my house tomorrow."

Jane doesn't ask the question clearly written on her face.

Maura answers anyway. "It's more private."

A moment passes. Then two.

"We're really doing this, huh?"

"Yes. You owe me."

Jane only shows her surprise at the dirty tactic with an eyebrow quirk and a smirk. "You don't play fair, Maur."

Maura bites her lip from correcting her when she realizes Jane wasn't planning on saying her full name. And the way it sounds from Jane's mouth, with that husk, at that moment sends a shiver down her spine. _Maur... I like it._

"That's because I play to win."

"I'm sure you could do better for a prize."

"That's beside the point. That's what I want, and I'll be damned if you deny us any longer."

"It's," sigh, "kinda driving me crazy too, but-" _What about the bet? Fuck it._

"No buts. I'll see you tomorrow."

Maura leaves the public bathroom and rejoins the group to ask Barry to take her home. A few minutes later when Jane comes out, the rest head home too.

* * *

_Cause I'd like_

_To call you_

_Some time_

_I'd like you to need me_

_One time_

_I'd like_

_To have you_

_All, the time_

_Oh, I would li-ike…_

- I'd Like, FRESHLY GROUND

* * *

**A/N:** Phew! I think I rewrote this chapter twice everyday. Thanks for your patience. But sorry for the all-over-ness of it all. All mistakes are unmistakably mine and all reviews are more than welcome and appreciated.


	16. Chapter 16: Keep It Simple Stupid

I was just about to change my pen name to Tease-About-It, but then I was like, let's make this chapter a sweet sixteen. I think I'm more excited than **you** guys… Enjoy!

* * *

**16. Keep It Simple, Stupid**

* * *

She sits in her car, engine still running, wondering if perhaps she's a little under-dressed for the occasion as she monitors the mansion in her rear-view mirror.

The sound of timed sprinklers makes her realize just how quiet this neighbourhood actually is without the low hum of her radio.

Every once in a while a Range Rover or police patrol car crawls by, and she knows they probably think she's either lost or casing the place out, like some common criminal. She smiles and waves at them just to spite them before flipping them the bird for their rear-viewing pleasure.

She pulls out her cigarette pack, taps one out onto her hand and places it between her lips. During the brief and fruitless search for her lighter, she thinks better of it and takes the cigarette out of her mouth. Probably not the best thing to do right now. Jane sighs and chews on a few tic tacs instead.

Pep talks are a powerful tool. That is how many soldiers have been motivated to risk their lives and blow shit up. That's how revolutions have been started. That's how many successful sportspeople have been pushed to win or handle a loss. That's how many parents and guardians have gotten their kids to overcome their fear of swimming in the water (then wonder why those same kids won't hesitate to play with fire).

The sudden rush of cold air through her mouth and nose is a welcome distraction from her sudden fretfulness. She breathes deeply in and out, and the pep starts talking:

"_C'mon, Jane. Snap out of it. What's wrong with you? You want this, remember? It's only Maura… __**Only**__ Maura? Are you fucking kidding yourself? __**Just**__ Maura? This is the first time you've ever wanted to kiss a girl so bad. I mean badly. What, no. Bad. See, you can't even have a conversation with your own damn self without her getting in on it with her language lessons. Just go there and get it over with already so you can move on. Like she said, her lips against mine. Simple enough."_

Jane's been sitting in the car since midday. The text she got last night told her to come around one. The time now is one thirty-two. She shuts the car off for the third time.

Jane Rizzoli is all pepped out. Now, time for a little less conversation and a little more action.

* * *

"Come on out, Bassie-poo," coos the animal's worried caretaker, "You have to eat."

When after a few moments he still hasn't come out, Maura's shoulders sag in defeat and she has a bite of the strawberry herself as consolation.

"Should I be calling Animal Cops, 'cause I'd swear you just stole your turtle's food."

Maura looks up from her crouching position to find a tall, dark and handsome figure grinning down at her like a fond parent catching their toddler with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Jane!" exclaims Maura before she can stop herself, already on her feet. "I thought you weren't coming."

"Oh, ye of little faith. I thought you of all people would appreciate a little fashionable lateness."

"Fashionable, bordering on rude. I was about to do yoga." She gestures to her clothes, scrunchie on her wrist, and a little annoyed that Jane came in just when she'd changed out of her previous outfit. Jane doesn't mind though.

"And what pose was that? The starving turtle?"

"Bass won't eat. I think he's depressed. And he's a tortoise, not a turtle."

"Exactly, he's a tortoise. So how can he be depressed? Maybe he's in hibernation or something." Jane walks over and crouches next to Maura to steal a strawberry herself. She ignores Maura's disapproving look and pats Bass's shell, curiosity overcoming her. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say these strawberries were to set the mood."

"If I wanted to feed you an aphrodisiac it would most likely be chocolate. Studies show that the chem-"

Her rant stops dead in its tracks when, out of the blue, Bass tentatively comes out of his shell while Jane's hand stays atop him. Jane's actually using his shell to support herself as she steals more strawberries, but the look in Maura's eyes is like she just brought him back from the dead.

Jane winks. "Okay, so rule number one," she says, "If we're doing this, no googlemouth. Relevant or random."

Maura understands immediately what Jane is talking about. "But-"

"No buts. Unless I'm grabbing _yours_."

Maura tries to act scandalized but so Jane doesn't run away again, she zips her lips and throws away the key. "Got it."

"Rule number two: no witnesses. The turtle's gotta go."

"Bass is harmless. He can't and won't tell anyone. And he's a _tortoise_."

"Harmless? Look at him! Secretly judging me…"

"He likes you, Jane… Are you sure you're not just projecting your own performance anxiety onto him."

Jane stands up. "Rule number three: never question my performance."

Maura stands too. "I don't think I can agree to that one."

"It's only a matter of time."

"It's all been a matter of time for too long, don't you think?"

_Her lips on mine, simple enough. My mouth on hers. No complications._

Jane moves to stand right in front of Maura and the height difference brings her dimples out. Maura wets her own lips and adds her dimples to the mix. They chuckle when Maura puts her arms around Jane's neck and has to tip toe to make up for being short and barefoot.

Jane crouches down and taps the back of Maura's thigh and she wraps her legs around Jane's waist.

"Better?"

Maura nods, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Figuratively. Everything since Jane has been so figurative and poetic. Their breaths mingle and they lick their lips and the last barrier between them is crushed by a simple question.

"Did Frost kiss you last night?"

"He was a perfect gentleman."

"Did _you_ kiss _him_?"

"Yes."

"I thought you weren't gonna lead him on anymore."

"I wasn't aware a good night kiss on the cheek could lead directly to a marriage proposal."

Ah, sarcasm. "I've created a monster." Jane shakes her head.

"Rule number four," says the smaller girl in her arms, "no more talking until you've kissed me."

Jane nods fervently and closes the gap.

Like the first drop of rain after a year-long drought.

Like the first time a newborn opens their eyes.

Like the shock of the paddles on your chest after a heart attack, and the first breath you take on your own out of a coma combined.

That is Jane and Maura's first kiss.

No more than a press of the lips, but no less than electric.

And when Maura moans, Jane hears and feels and sees it behind her eyelids. Like lightning and thunder, but more. _Maur_.

Jane pulls back when Maura's grip loosens around her waist. She catches her.

"You okay?" she asks.

But as if in a hypnotized state of responsiveness, Maura's half-closed lids keep their sole focus on Jane's lips. "Hm?" she squeaks as her head dips to press her lips back firmly against Jane's. Like a heat-seeking missile, programmed to seek the inferno that is Jane Rizzoli's oral cavity. She moans again at the warm and soft contact. The novelty amplifying exponentially.

Jane smiles against an insistent mouth, but forgets her own question when Maura makes that sound again. It sets off a live wire in her pulse. As if Maura's lips are the positive to her negative such that once they touch, there's a nuclear explosion.

They both pull away simultaneously. Far and long enough to share one, two, three labored breaths in an unfaltering rhythm as if the give and take from mouth to mouth couldn't be broken even by this minute distance. An unpracticed yet fortified sort of symbiosis neither girl has the time nor desire to question or acknowledge before closing the gap once more.

Heads tilt in tempo as mouths move and massage each other at a spirited speed. Oxygen long forgotten as each kiss is like a breath of freshness. A breath of new life, but a dying breath all at once. A heavenly almost spiritual sensation, yet a devilishly delicious delicacy too. One not meant to be merely sampled, but savored.

Moving them to the bed, Jane swipes her tongue across a pouty bottom lip and, with a whimper, Maura falls over like a feather.

Jane's confusion at the loss of contact is soon replaced by mirth as the breathless, blushing babe lands on her back with a slight bounce off the bed. She grins, watching Maura try to string a word together while her lungs suck air in greedily.

Jane leisurely slithers up beside her and trails her thumb over and around her own consequentially lip-gloss-covered lips.

Holding her hand up to try and gather her thoughts, Maura gasps, "Wow."

Jane grins at this speechless puddle Maura has become. She leans over to give her a lingering peck on the lips, earning yet another moan, before linking her hands behind her head and lying back. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Somewhere. Over a rainbow. An angel gets her wings.

And a toaster.

"That was… intense."

Jane only smiles and stares up at the ceiling until a thought crosses her mind. She tilts her head in Maura's direction with a raised brow.

"Was that your first kiss?"

What Maura wants to say is that if that is how a kiss should really feel like, then it may as well be the one to properly take her lipginity. But for fear of sounding as affected as she feels, especially since the girl beside her seems so nonchalant about it all, Maura's unambiguous reply is, "No."

"Ha. Could've fooled me."

"I beg your pardon? Says the girl who was foolish enough to believe we had sexual intercourse."

"Well, if this is how you respond to a simple kiss, I wonder if you'd even survive _sexual intercourse,_" she chuckles to herself.

"Don't tease me. I've never… kissed a girl before you."

"Well, then," Jane props her head on her elbow with a Canada-sized smirk, "what's the verdict?"

"You want me to rate the experience?"

"You already have, I just wanna hear you say it."

"I can't say anything for certain. The results are… inconclusive."

"Inconclusive? This isn't a lie detector test. Did you like the kiss; yes or no?"

"It could still be a fluke."

"A f- excuse me? A fluke?"

"Yes. As of now all I have is a hypothesis and preliminary evidence. I would need more empirical data in order analyze- Wh- Why are you laughing at me?"

"If you wanna do it again, all you had to do was say so."

Maura bites her lip. Busted.

"Only for the sake of science," she maintains.

Jane guffaws, "You sure put a new spin on the idea of experimentation."

But nonetheless, she leans in. And when she does, Maura closes her eyes in anticipation. Then Jane stops. Maura opens her eyes in confusion. But then Jane leans in closer and Maura shuts her eyes quickly again. She puckers her lips, only to be met with air.

"Jane! Stop teasing."

The entire bed shakes with Jane's booming laughter. She just can't help herself.

Maura leans up on her elbows to shoot an annoyed look at the insufferably irresistible young woman beside her, laughing at her expense, and she can't help but join in. For once, she's able to laugh at herself without feeling like the butt of a sick joke. Levity.

"You're horrible," she says through the amusement.

"You should have seen your face. It was like," Jane closes her eyes and pouts, then opens her eyes with a frown, then pouts close-eyed again in quick succession like a ridiculous miming fish. Maura covers her face as happy tears roll out of her eyes from the raucous laughter taking over her body.

The sound of their twin glee fills the large bedroom with warmth for the first time and Maura can't help but thank whatever deity exists that Jane showed up.

"I'm gonna kiss you now," husks the devil.

Maura slowly uncovers her face to find Jane looking down on her with smoldering coffee browns, and a hint of playfulness. Her heart speeds up at the swiftness of the atmospheric change and she gulps. Nodding.

This time she doesn't close her eyes until Jane is close enough to make her eyes cross.

A breath away, Jane stops again, but having no more patience for it, Maura pulls Jane down to her by her ears. Jane's muted chuckle reverberates against their joined lips but she doesn't pull away.

She asks for permission to deepen the kiss instead. Her tongue like a sinner knocking on Heaven's door.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Maura's Pearly Gates welcome her with a sweet, strawberry-flavored reception.

They both moan at the first moist meeting.

Maura's hands involuntarily tighten their grasp, forgetting she's holding on to Jane's ears like a steering wheel. But Jane doesn't particularly enjoy being steered.

_You're directing me  
Your eyes focus like a microscope  
Because you need  
Eyes focused like a microscope_

She curls and flicks her tongue upwards, tickling the roof of Maura's mouth who giggles at the weird sensation, letting go of Jane's ears.

"So bossy," breathes Jane, dimples on full display.

In her eagerness to reattach, Maura clumsily bumps her nose against Jane's.

Jane keeps laughing but puts her left hand at the back of Maura's head, firmly holding it in place so she can't move.

"Who's bossy now?" gasps Maura, tangling her fingers in a raven wilderness, licking her lips.

_You're directing me  
You're dressed up, I lose my grip, my focus  
Make those eyes at me  
I lose my grip, I lose my focus_

Jane looks intently into hazy hazel jewels. She makes a note to ask Maura to googlemouth about how eyes can change color, but not any time soon because she's too busy kissing her. She kisses Maura's cheek, then her nose, and the other cheek. She trails her mouth around a tensing jaw and slowly, tenderly, makes her way back to luscious thin lips. Her hot breath much like the open flame that scorches your boldly hovering hand even before contact.

And just when Maura thinks she'll burst if Jane doesn't put that mouth to better use right that second, Jane takes the plunge, thrusting her tongue into her open mouth.

That's when Maura realizes, each and every nerve-ending on her own tongue is flammable and Jane's is the match to Maura's fuse. Sparking a domino effect of incineration from her brain all the way down… and left and right and round and round.

Ubiquitous. Yet concentrated. Dominating. Yet intimate. Intense.

Teasing and tasting and tickling and twirling. Jane's tongue strokes hers reverently. Smoothly charming it out of its timidity. And when the younger girl strokes back with equal vigor, she sucks on it.

"Mm…" Maura opens her mouth a little wider, beckoning and reciprocating all in one motion, but ultimately submitting to Jane's skilled and deliberate assault.

She wouldn't have it any other way.

Each lick and flick loosening the pin of the grenade of pleasure and arousal buried deep within. And just when she's sure her ovaries are about to explode, Jane bites her bottom lip and pulls away with a wet pop.

And that is how she finds them. All lusty eyes, heated skin, heavy breaths and wet, swollen lips. Clinging to each other on a rumpled bed with that last sound still lingering in the air.

"Maura Dorthea Isles."

It takes a second, or two, but when Maura's brain catches up, her horrified mother's hand is still on the recently opened door of her bedroom.

Jane wipes her mouth with the back of her hand while darting a glance at Maura, and mirrors her movements when she quickly sits up.

"M-mother, what-"

Her stuttering speech is halted by the show of Constance's palm.

"Save it." Mrs. Isles sighs with her eyes shut as if willing a headache from coming on. "Just- just make yourself presentable and come downstairs."

As Maura self-consciously scoots to the edge of her bed, her mother adds one more thing before whipping around and shutting the door behind her.

"Garrett is here."

The large room is cold again and Maura curses under her breath.

"So, that was your Mom, huh?"

"Yes. I didn't know she would be home."

"She works on weekends?"

"She's usually in a different part of the world."

"Oh. Garrett your Dad?"

Maura shakes her head as an answer to Jane's question and in response to her own internal confusion about why on earth he would be here. After what happened.

Sensing Maura's aversion for that particular topic, Jane awkwardly looks around before making her decision. "Okay... I'll just… be… not here anymore."

"Wait, you're leaving?"

"Uh… I guess so."

"But why?"

Sometimes it doesn't hurt to state the obvious. "Your mother just walked in on us."

"Yes."

"She wasn't exactly happy about it. I mean, she didn't even acknowledge my existence."

"Stay." It's a plea.

Jane melts a little, tucking a strand of loose hair behind Maura's ear. "You need more empirical data?"

Maura blushes. "No. I… I am thoroughly convinced."

"Good." Jane clears her throat and stands up, debating whether she wants to ask the question just on the tip of her tongue. "Maybe I could… convince you again sometime?"

Maura beams. "You could try if you stay."

"I dunno. Your Mom just now was a total mood kill. Plus, _Garrett's here_," she mocks in her best haughty accent.

Maura nods remembering her mother's request for her presence and stands up as well. Jane pats her pockets for her car keys and walks towards the door.

"Next time, we'll remember to lock the door, yeah?"

"Next time, you'll try to be less fashionably late."

Jane rolls her eyes but nods. "Until next time then." She waves and walks out the door, in no mood to prolong any awkward good-byes.

The loud stomping sound of combat boots echoes softer and softer from down the hallway. Maura watches her longingly until she's out of sight. She sighs, closing the door and leaning back against it.

She shakes her head in disbelief and touches her fingertips to her lips, still tingling. She can't help but smile.

A buzzing on the bed startles Maura but then she realizes it's a phone. Jane's phone. At first Maura thinks it might be Jane's mother or Frost, but only one letter flashes on the screen.

_K._

Brought up to believe that letting a call go to voice-mail is rude, Maura answers the phone as she hurriedly exits her room to go and catch up with Jane before she drives off.

"Jane's phone, how may I-"

"Really? She's got someone else answering her phone calls now? Typical. Are you one of her floozies?"

"I- I beg your pardon?"

"You know what? I don't really care. Just tell Jane that she better call me before she fucks you. It's important."

Then the line goes dead.

"Oh, hey you found it." Jane appears at the top of the staircase looking a little prickly.

"It must have fallen out when we…"

Jane takes the phone but hesitates to leave.

"So... Garrett seems nice." Caustic.

"You two have met?" Maura can't help but be surprised.

"We just did. Briefly." Jane's brain tells her to just stop talking and walk away already, but another part of her ain't having none of that. "Is he your one o'clock?" she asks suggestively.

Not particularly caring for Jane's tone, especially after the phone call she's just had, Maura replies, "He's my ex-boyfriend. What are you implying?"

Looking away and rocking on the balls of her feet, Jane shakes her head at herself. "Nothing."

"Someone named K just called. She told me to tell you to call her before you have sex with me. Is she _your_ one o'clock?"

"God. That girl is crazy." Jane groans.

"She thinks I'm one of your floozies. I thought you were celibate."

"Y'know, what? Don't worry about it. We're not dating, so next rule is no talk about exes. Or anyone else at all. Lets not complicate this."

That's Jane's lame attempt at apologizing without having to apologize, so Maura drops it. "You're right."

Maura sighs away the annoyance and turns to re-enter her room.

"One for the road?" asks Jane, and Maura isn't surprised when she is more than happy to oblige.

* * *

**A/N:** _On Directing_ by TEGAN & SARA. Abrupt ending, I know, but look at all the other words I put in here. EVERYONE must Review. That's an order. ;-p But I love you all regardless.


	17. Chapter 17: Exes & Ohs!

I've been meaning to say thank you to **all** the Guest reviewers for the feedback. It sucks that I can't personally reply to each of you, but it would probably go along the lines of 'Thank you very muchos gracias and Arigatō!'

* * *

**17. Exes and Ohs!**

* * *

As soon as she enters the room he politely stands up. "Maura," he smiles that boyishly handsome smile that used to make her swoon, but then his eyes and expression dip briefly. "You look… you look well."

She's still in her yoga outfit and looking rather disheveled. Jane may have gotten a little carried away with that last one, so instead of keeping them waiting any longer, Maura forewent her bedroom. Had she actually gone to check on her appearance, she would have noticed the tousled hair, rosy complexion and hard nipples poking through her yoga top. Oops.

"Garrett. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asks politely, noting the presence of her mother.

"I come bearing gifts." He excitedly presents a large gift-wrapped item like a magician's assistant but his audience isn't moved.

"Oh. What's the occasion?" she asks, genuinely curious.

"Your birthday, of course," he laughs darting between mother and daughter.

"Oh. Well, I appreciate the belated thought." Garrett looks around at Constance who looks just as stunned, and that's when Maura realizes this is a set-up. "You did _know_ my birthday was a week ago, right?" she asks her ex-boyfriend pointedly while looking between he and her mother.

"Right," he's quick to say, yet the rest of his words come out slowly like a spontaneously constructed lie, "Of course! I was just busy last week, so… You know they say it's the thought that counts."

"That would imply that any thought was put into it to begin with," she remarks snidely.

"Maura. What has gotten into you? Garrett I apologize on my daughter's behalf. She's not herself today."

Maura bites her tongue to keep from saying she feels more like herself than she has in a long time.

"That's alright, Mrs. Isles. In all honesty, I deserve it. I didn't leave things on the best of terms the last time we spoke. And for that, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies. Maura, I'm sorry."

Constance looks pointedly at Maura to be gracious.

"Apology accepted. Now, if you'll excuse me-" she turns to return upstairs.

"Wait! Uh, Mrs. Isles, would you mind giving us a moment? Please."

"Oh, no. Not at all. Maura, see if he would like anything and let Greta know. I'll be in my studio."

Once her mother is out of sight, Maura sighs and crosses her arms. She just looks at him. She's not surprised when his entire demeanor changes, like a mask has been lifted.

"Hm. I'm quite parched," he admits cheekily. "Would you mind-"

"Yes. I mind. Why are you really here, Garrett?"

"Maura, come on. I've missed you." He almost sounds sincere, but for the toothless grin on his mug.

"That's really too bad, because the feeling isn't mutual. And buying me gifts won't change that. In fact I'm insulted that you think you can just buy your way back into my life."

"Funny," he says, thoughtful, "You used to love my gifts."

"That's because I used to love **you**." She bristles. "Or at least, I _believed_ I did."

He scoffs. "I treated you like royalty. I even put up with your weird quirks in front of all my friends. The least you could've done-"

"What, Garrett? What's the _least_ I could have done?" The venom in her voice steals his bravado.

"I-I just mean…"

"Say. It."

He swallows visibly, no longer cocky, but the feeling of guilt manifests as anger.

"We dated for an entire year! We've known each other almost our **entire** lives, Maura. Our families have been allies for even longer. You and I make sense together."

She doesn't raise her voice. "I have my whole life ahead of me to figure out what makes sense to **me**. And you? Not even close."

She waits a beat before turning to exit the room.

"Dammit, Maura! No one's gonna love you like I do!"

She stops, shoulders tensing at his choice of words rather than the tone. She turns enough for him to fully appreciate the wrath in her eyes.

"And for that, I thank natural selection."

Conversation over.

* * *

When Jane gets back to her car, she startles herself with her own reflection in the rearview mirror. Where the Hell did that stupid grin come from and why do her dimples hurt so much? The image and sensation of soft lips and a strawberry-flavored tongue flash before her mind's eye. _D'oh_, says her brain.

She tries to shake the smile off, but it keeps creeping back up so she starts the car.

As easy as it was for her to hide the effect Maura's kisses had on her, there's no way she can deny it now. But she doesn't have time to dwell on that before her phones vibrates.

_Frost._

Her smile drops faster than an anvil. Talk about bad timing. _Fuck my life, he probably wants to talk about his date_, she thinks as she answers after a few more rings. And her prediction is spot on.

"God, Jane. It was so great," he gushes, "She's so cool. And smart. Ridiculously smart. The entire game she kept telling me what muscles you were using to make all these shots, so I guess she's a basketball fan. Which makes her even cooler!"

Jane isn't sure what to say, but hopes her lack of enthusiasm doesn't show. "Sounds like she really enjoyed herself… with you."

"She said she had a great time. I even got a kiss good night! I'm thinking of asking her out again. On a proper date this time."

"A second date, huh?"

"Yeah, but somewhere where we can kinda have some privacy, y'know?"

"Uh-huh."

"You think it's too soon?"

"Well… don't you? I mean, it's barely been a day."

"Yeah, you're right. It's just that I really like her and I see how the guys at school look at her. If I don't make my move first, I might never get a chance."

Hold the phone. "Guys? What guys?"

"Y'know, the ones with eyes. I've seen some guys trying to chat her up during the week."

Jane was too busy trying to avoid Maura to notice she's now hot property.

"Jane?"

"Yeah."

"Do you maybe have her number? Since she's tutoring you and all."

This is getting out of control. Jane wants to just tell him the truth about Maura's feelings (or lack thereof) for him and just put him out of his misery, but someone else wants to speak to her.

"Uh, I've got an incoming call. Sorry, I gotta take this," she rushes out before switching on him.

"Wai-"

Jane is too grateful for the distraction to check her caller ID, which is a mistake.

"Jane?" asks the vaguely familiar voice on the other line, but the underlying tone of annoyance is unmistakable.

"That's a good guess. Who is this?"

"Finally! I can't believe how hard to reach you are. And I'm sure you're doing it on purpose too. Such a douchebag!"

"Okay, I'm hanging up now."

"Why, so you can get back to your floozie?"

And then something clicks in her head.

_"Someone named K just called. She told me to tell you to call her before blah blah blah…"_

Jane curses under her breath. She just knew this day was too good to be true. "K. Whataya want?"

"I think you already got what you wanted, Jane. Isn't that why you've been avoiding me?"

"K, listen-"

"Why don't you just drop it with the nicknames, okay? You've made yourself pretty clear. You don't wanna see me again? Fine. I'm not calling to beg you to grow a heart."

"Then why _are_ you calling?"

Sigh. "I, uh…" she mumbles something that Jane can't decipher even with the okay reception.

"I'm kinda driving right now, so could you speak up or just text-"

"I have Chlamydia!"

For a few moments Jane's mouth freezes in the shape of an 'o' and she slowly pushes down on the brakes to avoid any accidents.

"Uh… That's uh… I'm really sorry to hear that, but I promise it wasn't from me. As shitty as I was to you, I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't have slept with you knowing-"

"No, you don't understand. I think I had it _before_ we…"

"You what? You what! Fucking Hell, K! What the fuck?!"

"As much as it serves you right, I'm really sorry Jane. You should get yourself checked out just in case."

"Fuck!" she slams her fists against the steering wheel repeatedly. She was always careful not to catch anything, and she hasn't been feeling any different, but what if that stupid bitch gave her a fucking STD?

Fuck!

But maybe it's karma. If she wasn't such an ass, maybe… Shit, she has to go get her check-up. ASAP.

"Jesus…" she says into, the phone after calming down a smidge. "Alright, I will. And K?"

"Hm?"

Sigh. "I really am sorry for the way I treated you. And thanks for telling me this. A lesser person would've just let me suffer," she mumbles, sobering at the realization.

"Uh-huh. Jane?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you even know my name?"

End of conversation.

* * *

She can't fucking believe her eyes when she finally receives her test results. The first person she wants to tell is Maura, but for all intents and purposes, she can't seem to stop staring at the white sheet of paper, riddled with chicken scratch scribblings more commonly associated with doctors, but also a big, fat, red letter accompanied by a positive-plus next to it.

She turns to her lab partner with wide eyes and is met by a knowing smile.

"I did it," she whispers in disbelief.

"Congratulations, Jane," replies Maura, "I knew you could."

A little louder this time, "Holy Galifianakis, I fucking did it, Maur!"

After such a funky end to her weekend, Jane's Monday is already looking up.

"Rizzoli! I know _you_ getting a B-plus on a Biology test is an occasion worthy of celebration," he pauses for dramatic effect allowing the class their little snickers, "but would you mind saving that for _after_ class?"

Unfazed, "Oh, Pike! I could kiss you!" Jane holds out her arms as if she were about to do it for real.

The class laugh, but settle down quickly at Pike's stern look.

Reigning herself in, Jane bumps the honey-brunette's shoulder, whispering, "A B-plus, Maura. I could kiss _you_."

Maura quirks a manicured brow and smiles as she says, "I thought you said _no witnesses_."

"Meet me at the gym at lunch."

Maura nods her head, but getting all the way to the gym unnoticed proves to be a tad harder than she anticipated.

"Barry! How… are you?"

"Great. I just thought I'd walk you to the cafeteria."

At that moment, a very impatient looking Jane peaks her head out from the gym entrance wondering what's taking Maura so long. And then she spots them.

"That's very sweet of you…"

Jane flails about, catching Maura's attention, who decides to speak up a little louder for Jane's benefit. "**Yes**, that's sweet of **you** to **walk me to the cafeteria**…"

Jane rolls her eyes and shakes her head while mouthing NO! NO! NO!

"but I… can't? **I** **can't come with you**. I…"

Jane thinks for a second and then an idea comes to mind. She walks up to them casually.

"Oh, hey Maura! We'd better head to the library quick before we lose our table."

"Quick_ly_." Maura just can't help herself sometimes.

Jane rolls her eyes. Now's not the time for that.

"We don't have any upcoming science tests do we?" asks a confused Frost.

"Psh… oh, y'know, revision is good and stuff."

Frost feels a little conflicted because he wants to spend time with Maura, but, damn his good heart.

"Well, it looks like the tutoring's been helping, so I guess I'll see y'all later?" he directs his question at Maura.

"It's inevitable," she smiles.

He smiles back at the familiar answer and stalks off.

"Mmm… if this is what a B+ gets me," Maura laughs a bit. Kiss.

"Yeah, imagine what I'd do to you for an A," smirks Jane.

"I intend to find out." Their lips meet again and Maura massages Jane's bottom lip between her own.

"I mean, I know you're a genius and all-"

"Yes. Yes, I am." Breathless.

"- a modest one too. But where do you get the time to learn all these things? You barely even looked at the textbook when you were tutoring me."

"Well," kiss… "I was home-schooled all my life, so I worked at my own... mm- pace, which proved to be above average. As a matter of fact, I was supposed to start College this year."

"Then why are you slumming it here," kiss, "with us?"

"Mm- My parents decided it would be best if I had a bit of… normalcy in my life."

Jane laughs at that and stares at the other girl sitting on Coach Korsak's desk with her arms around Jane's neck. "I think if you've never been to a public school your entire life, it's a bit too late for normal."

Maura frowns slightly, but laughing eyes tell her Jane's just teasing. She smacks her anyway.

"Hey! And besides, high school is overrated."

"I don't know," Maura almost purrs. "I think I'm starting to enjoy it."

"Mmme," kiss, "too."

Their tongues meet each other in the middle to take part in a slippery dance. All the stress of life is forgotten in their little make-out bubble where everything's a little simpler. They don't pull apart for minutes until Maura feels dizzy.

"Jane, wait," she gasps, pulling away.

There's no other sound for a few moments as they catch their breaths. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just- I need to catch my breath."

"Need some mouth-to-mouth?" Jane doesn't smirk, but the humor is in her delivery.

"I'm not usually like this."

"Like what?"

"Affected."

"Wasn't Garrett a good kisser?"

Maura tilts her head in thought. She doesn't miss Jane's curious anticipation, which makes her feel more playful. "Rule number five prohibits me from answering that question."

Jane rolls her eyes. "What's number four again?"

"No more talking until you've kissed me." Maura says as she reaches for Jane's ears. Jane catches her wrists.

"Uh-uh. We've already kissed so you can answer one more question."

With a dramatic sigh, Maura acquiesces. "If I absolutely must."

"Since you can't lie, you've never told a guy he was good when he wasn't?"

"No!"

"Do you like this shirt with this jacket?"

"Not really, no."

Jane frowns before begrudgingly closing the gap for the last time.

* * *

"For the umpteenth time, I'm not putting that in my mouth."

"How many exactly is umpteenth?"

"Look at that," she gazes at Jane's _sangwich_, ignoring her comment. "Is it okay?"

"Yeah!" is the simultaneous response from both Jane and Frost.

The second lunch break is being spent as a group at the cafeteria and Maura's curiosity has turned into a dare.

She lifts half the sandwich and examines it. "Look at this! What is that white substance?"

"Fluff." D'oh.

"Light, downy particles of cotton?" she clarifies, confused.

"It's marshmallow, and the brown substance is called peanut butter. It's ground up, heavy, oily particles of peanuts. What, they didn't have that in your fancy… home-school?"

Maura gives Jane a withering look but her curiosity kills her trepidation. Here goes nothing…

She has a bite and they wait for her reaction.

"This is really good!"

"Hey, genius. Got a minute?" says Suzie coming out of nowhere.

"Oh, Suzie! You should really try this!"

"Nah, not in the mood for sloppy seconds... Can I talk to you in private?"

Maura agrees to follow Suzie to a more secluded part of the lunch room if only to share the good news.

Chang crosses her arms and says, "I hear congratulations are in order."

She knows. How could she know? Maura blushes and looks around nervously. But with a hint of a smile. "Is it that obvious?" she asks.

"If Frost hadn't told me, the huge grin on your face would be a dead give-away."

Maura's eyes go wide. "Frost told you?"

"Well, yeah," shrugs Suzie. "Y'know, right before I could tell him how I felt, he couldn't wait to tell me about what a great date he had with you. Care to explain?"

"Oh my. I didn't think about that-"

"If this is to get back at me for not telling you what happened a _lifetime_ ago between me and Jane, I really hope you're pleased with yourself."

"Suzie, wait-"

The Chang has left the building. Convo concluded.

* * *

**A/N:** _Thanks for reading. XXXO-MIA_


	18. Chapter 18: Chlamydia Is Not A Flower!

To the Guest reviewer who accidentally posted **this** review on another author's story:

_"You did NOT stop that there?! I was so excited when I seen the update. Loved the chapter. As much as I'm upset that Jane might have chlamydia, I'm glad K is going to be out of the picture. And I'm double glad Jane and frost made that bet and she hasn't been sleeping around! I hope things work out with Suzy, but that might mean making her relationship with Jane come to light. Can't wait for the next chapter!"_

I just wanna say I'm uber-glad you're enjoying the story. **This** one, named _The Odds_, although the other one is pretty damn incredible. ;-p I don't know how the mix-up happened (and I wonder if it's happened before), but I think it's hilarious because the other author had no idea what you were talking about. I mean, can you imagine? If you'd stopped after the first three sentences, no one would've been the wiser, but then it gets specific, with names and bets and STD's and everything! Love it. And it gives me an interesting story to tell about how I got a PM from one of my favorite authors. So, thanks again!

Now, let's get back to this ridiculous high school soap opera to find out if Jane's middle name should be changed from Clementine to Chlamydia. _Hehe_.

* * *

**18. Chlamydia Is Not A Flower!**

* * *

Jane wakes up with a fright!

"Fuck!" she whispers under her breath when she realizes she _is_ in fact still in her bedroom, and not some quarantined science test lab where people in fancy bee-keeper outfits probe and prod her mutated body.

She rubs her face with both hands to clear the cobwebs and calms her breathing. What the actual fuck was _that_ about? She's never had sci-fi nightmares before, not even after that Resident Evil marathon with Frost a while back. Only a sexy dream about Milla Jovovich.

Jane removes the bed-spread and gets out of bed to go have a drink of water when she accidentally trips over something on the floor.

"Shit," she curses, her big toe aching.

And there it is, menacingly motionless next to her door.

The safe sex kit she got from her mother.

She doesn't know when her life's problems started visiting her in her dreams, but it's fucking annoying. She was trying to push this whole K situation out of her mind until the weekend, but it seems her sub-conscious wants it solved yesterday.

If only that damn box was around a month ago.

Jane groggily walks to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and noting that the Sun is coming up. It's never too early for a cup of coffee though.

"Janie, _you're_ up early," says the early bird matriarch, worm in hand. Actually, it's coffee, but Jane just steals it so there goes _that_ saying.

Undeterred, she asks, "What do you want for breakfast today, honey?"

Jane clears her throat, but her voice is still a rumble as she says, "Everything."

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"My life is a nightmare right now."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Talking won't really fix anything."

"Maybe you just have to talk to the right person."

"Yeah, maybe. Oh, by the way…"

Jane disappears into her room and comes back with something.

"Are those more bills?"

"Nope. But brace yourself."

Angela eyes her daughter suspiciously as she takes the piece of paper being handed to her.

"Janie… Oh my God, Janie! You got a B-plus!"

The proud mother engulfs the reluctant adolescent in a crushing hug. Then she starts to quiver and quake against her, sobbing. Jane wraps her arms around her mother, knowing how emotional she gets sometimes.

"I did it, Ma."

"Oh sweetie, I never doubted you could."

Angela lets go of her daughter and sniffles. "I'm gonna miss you so much when you go to College."

"If."

Angela shakes her head. "When."

_That's if I don't die of Chlamydia first_, thinks Jane. Actually, she has no idea what Chlamydia does and how it spreads. What if she can give it to Maura through kissing her? Ma's right. She needs to talk to the right person about this and find out after school.

* * *

The breakfast table is silent except for the clanging of cutlery as Maura pushes her food around her plate. She isn't in the mood for food right now as thoughts of Frost and Suzie weigh heavily on her mind. She isn't in the mood for her present company at the moment either, which is why she stays silent. That is, until the Isles matriarch speaks. "How did the chat with Garrett go?"

Maura drops her fork. "Did you _ask_ him to come here?"

"He asked if I could help him win your heart back."

"Shows how much _you_ know about me," she mumbles low enough. "How is it that my ex-boyfriend can get a hold of you any time, but you forget my birthday?"

Constance dabs her napkin against her mouth. "I'm sorry, dear. Anything you want, put it on the credit card."

Maura almost scoffs. She shakes her head in disbelief. "You just don't get it."

"I won't lie, it seems like you're a different person. Is that girl influencing you?"

Oh, here it comes.

"That **girl** has a **name**. She actually helped throw me a birthday party."

"Oh. And who paid for it?"

"I did," Maura tenses her jaw knowing where her mother's headed.

"Oh," she replies again, "and where was it thrown?"

"Here."

"Let me guess, she invited all _her_ friends?"

"I don't like what you're intimating. She was helping me _make_ friends."

Constance shakes her head, with an amused quirk of her lips. "I don't expect you to understand this, Maura, you've been sheltered all your life. But as your _mother_, I know the world."

"And you would know how the world of American high schools works? I may be new but I'm not naïve."

"Clearly she's just using you. You're her meal ticket, so to speak. She saw you as the clueless new girl and is taking advantage of you. Maura, she's after one thing, and one thing only."

Maura doesn't dispute that fact. Jane is only after her physical and intellectual assets. But if Jane is _using_ her, Maura's using Jane too. No one's the victim since all parties agreed to their arrangement.

"You may as well be talking about Garrett," Maura says folding her arms.

"Garrett is a gentleman. He's a good match for you _and_ a good influence. You were never so rebellious. This… **thing** with that **girl** is just a _phase_. You shall see for yourself soon enough. Once she gets what she wants from you, she'll disappear. But I don't want you to have to find out the hard way. So I suggest you stop seeing her. Or I'm taking you out of that school."

Maura's mouth drops. "Putting me in public school was **your** idea in the first place!"

"That was before you started throwing parties and doing who-knows-what in your bedroom with a girl I've never even met!"

"Her name is Jane!"

Connie just stares at her daughter's belligerence in shock for a while. She scoffs. "See? She has you wrapped around her finger already."

"Then so be it."

"Don't forget yourself, child. You're an Isles. Your father and I expect you to behave as such. And this rebellion is unbecoming."

Maura talks fast as she scoots out of the table, "I'm 15. I haven't had the chance to become anything yet. Excuse me I have school," and throws her own napkin onto her half-empty plate.

* * *

_Baby can't you see_

_I'm calling_

_A (girl) like you_

_Should wear a warning_

_It's dangerous_

_I'm falling_

* * *

When Jane sees Maura at school that morning, she's hobbling on one foot with a scraped knee. Her first instinct is to run to her and find out what happened, but she stops herself as Frost gets there first.

Maura gives Jane a look of gratitude for the thought.

"Maura, what happened?" asks Frost as he makes her rest her weight against her to help her walk.

Maura winces a bit, but the pain isn't too severe. "I got distracted and rode my bike into a pole. I fell, and… well, now I'm here." Truth is, she couldn't get her conversation with her mother out of her head. It was so infuriating.

"I'll take you to the nurse's office," he offers.

"Thank you."

Jane doesn't say anything but follows them to outside the door before saying she'll catch up with them later. Frost leaves soon after that at Maura's insistence that he not be late for class.

The nurse comes over already donning gloves.

"Well, what have we got here?" she asks in a chipper chirp.

"A scraped knee and a slightly bruised ego."

The older woman smiles. "Nothing to be ashamed of. We all get hurt every once in a while. How did this happen?"

This woman's calm and friendly energy puts Maura at ease. "I was riding to school and got distracted."

The nurse checks Maura's range of motion to make sure no further injuries were sustained. "Trouble with school?" she asks by way of keeping the conversation going.

"No," she winces, "Although school seems to be the main setting and catalyst," Maura realizes.

"Ah, boy trouble?"

Maura tilts her head in thought trying to categorize her problems.

"Girl trouble then?" asks the nurse with a smirk.

"Both."

"No wonder you fell off your bike."

They both laugh as the nurse cleans the wound.

"I can handle it, mostly. It's just that my mother isn't giving me the space to do it."

"I'm sure she's doing what she thinks is best." The nurse's face hardens for a moment, before giving way to softness. She holds up two little boxes of band-aid plasters. _Hello Kitty_ or _Wonder Woman_, she gestures. Maura points to the latter.

"I used to think so too, but now I wonder if maybe _I'm_ the one who should decide what's best for me."

"You seem like a smart girl. I trust you'll figure it out." She smiles, "All done."

"Thank you."

* * *

_There's no escape, I can't wait  
I need a hit, baby, give me it  
You're dangerous  
I'm lovin' it_

* * *

After her little chat with the school nurse, Maura falls into a better mood. All she wants now is some private time with the girl she defended to her mother. They haven't had any classes together yet. Around lunch-time she stops a hasty Jane as she darts off somewhere.

"Going somewhere?" she asks.

Jane looks surprised and annoyed at first, but that melts away when she sees who stopped her.

"Uh… how's the knee? You okay?" Jane deflects, although her concern is genuine.

"The nurse cleaned and bandaged the wound, so I'll be fine soon enough," Maura looks around them before lowering her voice. "But perhaps if you kiss it better, I may make a speedy recovery."

Kissing probably isn't the best idea right now, so Jane deflects again. "I, uh, actually have to be somewhere. Maybe later."

Maura's face is the picture of confusion. Is she missing something?

"Jane, wait. What's going on with you? You seem distant."

"Oh, you know…" she starts walking away backwards.

"I actually don't."

"Don't worry about it." Jane shrugs in dismissal really needing to be somewhere else.

"Maybe I could help," Maura shrugs shyly.

Jane snorts and comes up to Maura so she can hear her low voice. "Making out doesn't solve everything, okay? Making out leads… to others things… which lead to problems like the one I'm having right now so, thanks but no thanks."

Maura takes offense. "Making out isn't all I have to offer."

Feeling bad for being mean, Jane softens. She runs her fingers through her hair and tries to make her next words not to sound as harsh as they could be. "Don't take this the wrong way, Maur, but that's pretty much our thing now. We study or make-out."

"We also talk about stuff."

Jane shakes her head. "Not this kinda stuff. I'm sorry, I gotta go."

She storms down the hallway, leaving a stunned and hurt Maura to watch after her.

* * *

Jane paces in front of the nurse's office.

"You seem troubled," a voice says suddenly.

"I, uh…" she clears her throat, "I have a project!" she lies.

The older woman puts a finger on her chin.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure where the library is just yet. I only started yesterday," she shrugs.

"No, I- I know where it is. I just- I just… I'd rather get the information from, uh, a person?"

She tilts her head sideways. "What kind of information do you need?"

Jane tentatively walks in and spots some posters, pointing to them.

"Uh, kinda like these. About STDs? Uh, more specifically Chlamydia."

The nurse's face breaks out in excitement like Jane just said something not-gross.

"Oh, funny you should mention it. Recently, a survey showed that around 10 to 20 percent of sexually active female teens get and transfer Chlamydia infections; and in around 75 percent of cases, the infection remains clinically imperceptible."

Jane gulps. "And how long does it usually take? To show, I mean."

"Well, initial symptoms of Chlamydia are quite meek and gentle. However, if in case a person gets infected by the bacteria, then the symptoms appear after two or three weeks of exposure. Although it's been known to linger on for a very long time without being diagnosed."

She slept with K just over three weeks ago. Do the math. "Uh, symptoms like what?"

"Common symptoms in _females_ include a heavy vaginal discharge, a burning sensation while urinating, bleeding after sexual intercourse, irritation of the area around the vagina, abdominal pain and abnormal vaginal bleeding. But the infection is quite hazardous if not treated within the appropriate duration. Worst case scenario, the urethra, rectum, cervix and, in few cases, the lungs, liver, throat and eyes may be affected. And result in fertility issues."

As the nurse lists off all the possible complications, Jane goes paler and paler, feeling like she may pass out.

"But it is preventable! By avoiding unprotected vaginal, anal and oral sex. As well as not sharing toys. But having multiple partners is probably the **biggest** thing to avoid."

Shit. Too late for _that_. "And what if you get it? What do you do?"

"You have to stop having sex." She says matter of factly.

Jane's eyebrows shoot up. "What?"

"Yes, you must stop until you've completed treatment. Typically, the most effective treatment available for curing Chlamydia comes as a bouquet of antibiotics, but you have to get tested first so your doctor can prescribe them to you."

"What about a nurse?"

The nurse laughs. "Is this still for a project?"

"Totally," Jane chuckles nervously. "Uh… by the way, which poster is that?"

"Oh, I…" the lady looks around the walls. "We don't have one on Chlamydia, unfortunately."

"So you Googlemouth too?"

She smiles at the strange word. "I beg your pardon?"

"Never mind. You just sound a lot like someone I know. You even kinda _look_ like her."

The older lady only smiles. "Would that be a friend of yours?"

"She's, uhm… it's complicated," Jane shrugs.

"Well then, good luck."

"Mm-huh?"

"On your project."

"Oh yeah. Right. Thanks, Nurse..."

"Martin. I'm Nurse Martin."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, Maura and Suzie are busy making sad eyes at each other from across the cafeteria.

"What's going on with you and Suzie?" asks Frost, a little jealous about not getting the _quality_ time he's been wanting. Maura seems distant.

She sighs. "There's… this guy she likes."

"Uh-huh."

"And he liked her too at some point, but… she's not sure where his feelings stand right now."

"Why doesn't she just ask him then?"

"It's," sigh, "she tried, but… she's really shy? Sometimes?"

"Suzie Chang? Shy?"

They both laugh at the joke and Suzie scowls in their direction figuring the love-birds are busy planning their wedding or something.

"But anyway, if only there was a way to get him to talk to her," asks Maura dramatically.

"That shouldn't be much of a problem. Suzie's a great girl," Frost shrugs nonchalantly.

"She is!"

"She's smart, she's funny, pretty…" Frost's eyes glaze over and a faint smile covers his face as he lists the rest in his mind. Then he almost slaps himself. _You're over her, remember?_

"And _you're_ a great friend for worrying about her," he reaches across the table to hold Maura's hand.

"Let's get back to Suzie. How can she get his attention?"

"Well, uh, not all guys are the same, but if it were me that she liked, all she'd have to do is ask."

"That's all?"

"Yep. But don't worry, the only girl on my mind these days is you."

This makes Maura _more_ worried.

* * *

Jane comes out of the school after excusing herself from basketball practice to find Frost whistling. Actually it's more akin to a cat-call, but it's not aimed at any girl. "This is a Spyker C8 Laviolette!" he exclaims, "That's 400 horses up under there! I don't even see these in magazines."

"Garrett's here," says Maura as Jane eyes the familiar ride suspiciously.

"You know who owns that car? Can you convince him to give me a ride in it? Or even just a picture."

Jane shakes her head knowing Frost would be singing a different tune if he knew who Garrett is.

"He's always liked the finer things in life," says Maura.

Jane snorts. "Yeah. He liked _you_."

Maura turns to look at Jane briefly but she's still a little hurt about their earlier encounter.

Frost looks between them like he's missing something. "Am I missing something here?"

Maura hobbles off to her bicycle, but Frost stops her.

"You shouldn't be riding that thing right now. Jane, mind taking Maura home? I have practice."

Jane keeps her eyes trained on the sports car blocking her car. "I kinda wanna stop somewhere first." Then she looks at Maura's dejected face. "But it shouldn't take long if you're willing to wait."

"I don't mind waiting," says Maura.

"Thanks, Jane. Bye, Maura."

As the two make their way to Jane's car, Garrett gets out of his car.

"Garrett, you shouldn't have come here."

"I wanted to see you," he says with that boyishly handsome grin. "And good thing I did. You look like you could use a ride home."

"I already have one, thank you."

Jane busies herself with putting Maura's bicycle in the boot while they talk it out. And then Garrett says the most unflattering thing.

"Come on, Maura-bear." Jane snorts under her breath. "I came out all this way just to see you. Adam gave me the old Spyker so I can drive you anywhere now."

Jane whips around to face him and moves to stand in front of Maura with a deadly glare."You're Adam Fairfield's brother?"

She knew that car meant trouble.

"At your service," he says proudly almost saluting, but Jane is even less impressed at the admission.

"C'mon, Maur. We've got places to be. _Things_ to do…" she says suggestively before helping Maura into her car.

A dogged Garrett goes back to his own car and starts it In the car as they put their seat belts on.

"Jane, what is it?"

"What are the odds… His brother's the one who got Becky sent away." Jane shakes her head, turning the key in the ignition and her engine rumbles to life like an alpha lion commanding his pride. There's no way she's letting Maura anywhere near a Fairfield if she can help it.

Her eyes stay on the sports car, waiting for it to move out of her fucking way.

Then Garrett revs his engine, eyes narrowed focused on them.

Jane smirks; challenge accepted.

She revs her engine and the loud sound echoes throughout the parking lot. Drowning out her opponent.

Car exhaust fills the area with a smokey effect and people start to crowd around expecting a race. I blame the Fast and the Furious movie franchise.

Garrett's face turns red with anger as he revs and revs and revs, but the sound disappoints. Jane grins briefly, knowing she could go louder, but doesn't have to.

Eventually he just drives away with a screech.

Jane eases off the gas pedal and nonchalantly drives out of school with a victorious smirk on her face. She doesn't see it, but Maura has a similar one on hers, because for someone in such a casual relationship, Jane's acting awfully jealous.

* * *

_It's getting late to give you up  
I took a sip from a devil's cup  
Slowly  
It's taking over me_

* * *

Maura watches Jane walk down the sidewalk, hands in her pockets and head down, coming back towards the car. She's been waiting for her for over half an hour and she was getting worried. Her imagination was running wild with scenarios that could have gotten Jane so serious and secretive. She doesn't know what they're doing in this part of town but something tells her Jane doesn't really wanna talk about it, so she doesn't push.

In the back of her mind though, her mother's words play over and over.

Maura isn't sure how long she'll be satisfied with the arrangement they have going on if it means Jane keeps things from her. She wishes Jane would _want_ to talk to her about things, and _that_ wishful thinking is making Maura nervous. They aren't in a relationship, so Jane doesn't owe her any explanations and Maura has to live with it.

Or do something about it.

Jane slams her door shut and exhales a long breath she probably held all the way to and from the clinic. She made sure to park far away so Maura wouldn't see, but it doesn't really matter now anyway.

She turns towards Maura with a huge grin on her face. "Let's get you home before your mother sends out a search party."

The car ignites to life.

"I take it everything went well… wherever you were?" Maura asks.

Jane tilts her head from side to side, trying to find the right words. "The news was… positive," she says with a slight laugh.

As in, negative.

Phew! Bullet. Dodged.

She leans over the console to surprise Maura with a deep kiss before driving off, and Maura's glad to have her old Jane back.

Then she corrects herself in her head.

_Just_ Jane. Not _my _Jane.

Not yet.

* * *

_With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride  
You're toxic, I'm slippin' under  
Taste of a poison paradise  
I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?_

* * *

**A/N:** You should listen to YAEL NAIM's _16-Bit Dubstep version_ of **Toxic**. It's even better than the original! But anyway, I'm shipping Fruzie/Frang/Bazie/Surry/FrostyChang! All of the both of them. Thanks for reading y'all, and if you have a moment, check out **Don't Blink**, my latest one-shot. After reviewing. Bye.

**PSA:** Kids. Adults. Rabbits. Safe sex rocks!


End file.
